Why are there no organisms that are so perfect that they drive other organisms to extinction.?

Question

This question has to do with genetics and evolution. Mainly evolution.

Answer 1

There are, they're called humans. We have driven alot of species into extinction and depending on who you believe we have evolved.
So the answer is us. We are the perfect organisms that have driven others into exticntion.

Answer 2

Not much to add to secret and Ellie except a couple of things:

1) define what you mean by "perfect". A perfect species is only as perfect as it fits into its environment. An organism is only as perfect as it is can compete against others of its species.

In the former case, there are probably many organisms that fit perfectly into the environment they thrive in. It's not really fair to compare apples to oranges.

In the later case, well, secret and Ellie both pretty much answered that.

2) There are quite a few instances where one species has driven another to extinction. BUT, almost in every case, it was a species that was not native to the environment--it was introduced, often by humans. The numerous bird species extinctions in the Hawaiian islands due to (primarily) brown tree snakes, Amami rabbit species (among other) extinction in Japan due to introduction of the Indian Mongoose, Nile perch introduction into Lake Victoria (causing numerous fish species extinction), etc.

Are these species "perfect"? I doubt it, but their introduction into new environments caused extinction, for the simple fact that the other living organisms in the system couldn't handle such a rapid shift in the food web.

Answer 3

Well there is no perfect organism because the environment changes more rapidly than an organism evolves. Therefore by the time the organism adapts, the species may not be suited anymore for that environment because its changed while another species of organism might have the appropriate features to live and survive in that environment, unlike the other organism. It's all about luck and timing really.

Answer 4

Well that wouldn't be a perfection at all. If one organism drove every other organism into extinction, the one organism would probably become extinct itself. Just about every organism on earth is dependent on some other organism. The ones that aren't, aren't really competitive in such a way that they are a threat to other organisms.

Answer 5

History has TONS of example of organisms driving other to extinction. Nothing is perfect. There are too many factors involved in life to have a perfect organism.

Answer 6

Secretsauce has it right. In a predator/prey relationship, the predator does not kill all the prey. Ironically, the opposite is true: the predator weeds out the weak and sick making the prey population more fit. Even a good parasite won't kill its host.
Change your mind: The point of evolution is not perfection, but fitness to the environment. Can you withstand the cold/heat/lack of food/ lack of water/ bacteria/ viruses etc. that you may encounter?

Answer 7

That isn't perfection though; organisms depend on each other to survive. Driving other organisms to extinction would be a flaw; because it would harm them.
You do actually see species that can cause tthe extinction of other organisms; it iis usually ferrile(introduced) organisms that disrupt a given ecosystem.

Answer 8

Because nothing is perfect. It might be highly advanced or highly specialized but it is not perfect.

Take humans for example, we just might drive stuff to extinction through our actions but we aren't perfect, evolutionarily speaking. Like our knees. Evolutionarily, these joints are poorly adapted for the way we move, we have just made it work. That's why people have to get new knees at 60 or 65. If it were perfect it would work perfectly for how we move and never wear out.

Answer 9

Extinction is a part of evolution and therefore nature. It has to happen whether or not another species causes it.

Answer 10

This question seems to deal mostly with predator prey relationships, specifically a "perfect" killing machine. There has been predator species that have wiped out entire prey species before, usually because the predator is introduced quickly to a prey population not able to withstand the predator. Usually however, predators and prey evolve together so as the predator gets bigger, stronger, faster ect. so does the prey.