2007-01-20 09:11:37 · 19 answers · asked by brooklyntrail 1 in Environment
inability to adapt
2007-01-20 09:18:50 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The primary cause of extinction is the death rate being higher than the birth rate. The specific causes vary. This can occur due to disease, predation, some habitat change. Mankind has been demonized as being the cause of the extinction of several species. I submit that many species have become extinct without the influence of mankind. I further submit that we don't know enough about some situations to properly identify the underlying cause of some species' extinctions. Some such as the dodo bird are definitely due directly to mankind. Others are tougher. Several Australian species face extinction because of predation by feral cats. Oh wait, the cats were introduced to the continent by mankind. Some have tried to blame the extinction of the saber toothed tiger on primative man. Maybe even the giants of the ocean fell to our influence. Who truly knows?
That's basically it. They die quicker than they reproduce.
2007-01-20 09:37:04 · answer #2 · answered by Jack 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'd say the "Primary" cause of extinction is the loss of a significant number of healthy adults able to reproduce.
This can be caused by a number of factors none of which is more important than overpredation - but none is more pronounced as natural catastophe (as in the case of the dinosaurs).
2007-01-20 09:19:21 · answer #3 · answered by Dr Dave P 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pigs caused the extinction of the Dodo bird. When settlers arrived in the native land of the Dodo bird they brought pigs with them for food. The pigs ate all of the Dodo eggs (because their nests were on the ground) and they all died. Humans didn't really bother Dodo's because they tasted bad and were basically worthless.
So sometimes extinction is caused by pigs.
2007-01-20 10:00:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The Permian-Triassic extinction was the biggest mass extinction, and was caused by "supervolcanoes."
Other extinction events have been caused by meteors.
Maybe the answer you're looking for is "quick catastrophic climate change."
2007-01-20 09:21:27 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Primarily, it's the inability of a species to adapt to a change in its surroundings.
This could be because of a number of factors. Cataclysmic (Asteroid impact), weather (ice age, desertification), earthquakes, vulcanism, flood, habitat dying out, disease.
Could even be by predatation (man killing dodos, tiger, whales etc).
2007-01-20 09:23:23 · answer #6 · answered by Bill N 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mainly habitat destruction. Also poaching and overpopulation contribute as well.
PS Jake is COMPLETELY wrong.....MAN wiped out the Dodo bird, it is very well documented that we hunted them to extinction!
2007-01-20 18:31:30 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
apart from a nuclear holocaust .. if ppl stop having sex.. we definitely will be extinct.. think about it.. it is the primary and the most fundamental source of life
2007-01-20 09:39:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As others have said its currently habitat destruction followed by hunting - both down entirely to human beings.
In prehistory it was overly rapid climatic change caused by huge eruptions or asteroid strikes.
2007-01-20 09:44:13 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Human iterferance. the constant hunting of animals is definitely a big cause for it. Maybe some changes in the environment cause it...
2007-01-20 12:40:51 · answer #10 · answered by Milo T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depletion of food in the lower food chain..A domino effect.Not enuff food, things die or adapt to new food..Wich could happen , depends on how many are left and the adaption of new food and how plenyful it is
2007-01-20 09:21:28 · answer #11 · answered by clewis_10_1964 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋