What is Species Extinction

Extinction is defined as when an entire species ceases to exist. It is usually caused by the species' inability to adapt to changing environmental conditions and sometimes may be caused by large-scale catastrophic events such as a meteor impact and global climate change. It is a generally accepted fact that species will exist for 1-10 million years before going extinct according to the fossil records. However, catastrophic events definitely help to accelerate the process. For the entirety of Earth's history, there have been many difficulties that species have faced, including breaking up of continents and ice ages. There have also been volcanic activity, meteor and asteroid collisions, and large reserves of methane being released into the atmosphere from underwater deposits. Some of these events directly caused dust to block out sunlight and drastically reduced photosynthesis and surface temperatures.

Also, species extinction can be caused by introduced species that displace native ones. When you look around, all the organisms you see have withstood the test of time and have survived despite the great difficulties nature has presented them with. Of course, we are no exception.

There are several different types of extinction. There are background extinctions, mass extinctions, and mass depletions. All species will eventually become extinct. It is all a matter of time. Extinction is to species as death is to individual organisms. Though it is a morbid fact, it is a fact nonetheless. As local environments change and shift, a certain number of species will go extinct at a low rate, thus deserving the name background extinction. These usually are not significant. Scientists estimate that about 1-5 species go extinct every year per 1 million species that exist. Directly contrasting is mass extinction, which is a significant rise of rates above the background level. Scientists define mass extinctions formally as when about 25-70% of species go extinct. A mass depletion is anywhere in between background extinction and a mass extinction. It might also be surprising to know that mass extinctions do not happen all in one instant. It takes a large time frame for all those species to disappear. Though extinction is perceived negatively, if naturally occurring, it can be beneficial. It clears habitat and niches for fitter species and is a natural process.