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Exploring Extinction: Causes, Consequences, and Conservation

This quiz assesses knowledge on extinction, its causes, and conservation efforts. It covers topics from genetic diversity to specific species that have gone extinct.

#extinction #conservation #biodiversity #environment #species #ecology

1 [9] This is especially common with extinction of ________.

2 Meanwhile, low genetic diversity (see ________ and population bottlenecks) can cause reduced biological fitness and an increased chance of extinction amongst the reducing population of purebred individuals from a species.

3 ________ acts to propagate beneficial genetic traits and eliminate weaknesses.

4 What does the following picture show?  External mold of the extinct Lepidodendron from the Upper Carboniferous of Ohio.[6]   Dilophosaurus, one of the many extinct dinosaur genera. The cause of the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event is a subject of much debate amongst researchers.   The Dodo, shown here in a 1651 illustration by Jan Savery, is an often-cited example of modern extinction.[1]

5 Vital resources including ________ and food can also be limited during habitat degradation, leading to extinction.

6 People who live close to nature can be dependent on the survival of all the species in their environment, leaving them highly exposed to extinction ________.

7 In the 1800s when extinction was first described, the idea of extinction was threatening to those who held a belief in the ________, a theological position that did not allow for "missing links".

8 Those that are extant but threatened by extinction are referred to as threatened or ________.

9 What does the following picture show?  The Bali Tiger was declared extinct in 1937 due to hunting and habitat loss.   Apparent fraction of genera going extinct at any given time, as reconstructed from the fossil record.   The Golden Toad was last seen on May 15, 1989. Decline in amphibian populations is ongoing worldwide.   The Passenger Pigeon, one of hundreds of species of extinct birds, was hunted to extinction over the course of a few decades.

10 An important aspect of extinction at the present time are human attempts to preserve critically endangered species, which is reflected by the creation of the ________ "Extinct in the Wild" (EW).

đź’ˇ Interesting Facts

  • the extinction of the Greater Antillean sloths coincided with the first colonization of their islands by humans.
  • the extinct New Zealand Musk Duck was becoming more sedentary than its closest relative, the Australian Musk Duck.
  • the extinct New Zealand Little Bittern (pictured) was described as always being found alone and standing for hours in one place.
  • the extinct snakefly genus Proraphidia is known from fossils found in Spain, England, and Kazakhstan.
  • the Aldabra banded snail from the Seychelles died out due to climate change.
  • the barndoor skate (pictured) is a species of fish that is threatened with extinction from overfishing despite not being targeted by the commercial fishing industry.
  • when the giant flightless birds called moa (pictured) were overexploited to the point of extinction, the giant Haast's Eagle that preyed on them also became extinct.
  • the court decision in Palila v. Hawaii saved the Palila (pictured), a critically endangered honeycreeper, from possible extinction.
  • the brightly coloured shells of the Liguus snails (pictured) are so prized by collectors that some varieties are now extinct.
  • the Long-legged Bunting, an extinct species of Bunting, was one of the few flightless species in the Passerines order.
  • the extinct monkey lemurs, including Hadropithecus (pictured), were most closely related to modern indris and sifakas, as well as the extinct sloth lemurs.
  • the extinct marine reptile Kaganaias is the only ancient aquatic scaled reptile to be found in Asia.
  • Meru Betiri National Park in East Java is known as the last habitat of the Javan Tiger which is now considered extinct.
  • endangered arthropods (example pictured) are becoming extinct in such large numbers that many are not catalogued.
  • Chillingham Cattle have lived as an isolated herd for 700 years, and are believed to be closely related to the aurochs, an extinct species domesticated in the Stone Age.
  • Arthropleuridea is an extinct class of myriapods which includes, at over 2 meters long, the largest terrestrial arthropods that ever lived.
  • Archidermapteron martynovi is an extinct species of earwig named for Andrey Vasilyevich Martynov, who conducted extensive studies of fossil insects in the Soviet Union.
  • Lytocaryum weddellianum, an endangered species of palm trees endemic to Brazil, may be saved from extinction as it has become a common potted plant in Europe.
  • the California Condor, Mauritius Kestrel and Kakapo were all saved from extinction using modern bird conservation techniques.
  • although the teeth of the extinct rodent Holochilus primigenus are almost identical to those of Lund's Amphibious Rat, it is probably more closely related to marsh rats.
  • although the Norfolk Island Pigeon was hunted to extinction by humans, its first hunters disappeared from Norfolk Island before it did.
  • Nymphaea thermarum (pictured), the world's smallest water lily, was recently saved from extinction.
  • James Bond attributed the extinction of the Puerto Rican Conure to pigeon hunters visiting Mona Island.
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