Extensive genetic variety within a population or species is important for resilience, while low genetic diversity limits adaptations and increases extinction risk. Rare species face threats from hybridization and genetic pollution when interacting with more abundant species, which can swamp their gene pool and deplete purebred genetics. Currently, the primary driver of species extinction is habitat deterioration caused by human activities like agriculture, urban growth, forestry and mining. Habitat deterioration can directly poison environments or indirectly impact species' ability to compete for scarce resources against new competitors, potentially leading to extinction over time through impacts on life expectancy, reproduction or competitiveness. Physical habitat loss through activities like rainforest clearing also removes necessary niche habitats, eliminating dependent species.
Extensive genetic variety within a population or species is important for resilience, while low genetic diversity limits adaptations and increases extinction risk. Rare species face threats from hybridization and genetic pollution when interacting with more abundant species, which can swamp their gene pool and deplete purebred genetics. Currently, the primary driver of species extinction is habitat deterioration caused by human activities like agriculture, urban growth, forestry and mining. Habitat deterioration can directly poison environments or indirectly impact species' ability to compete for scarce resources against new competitors, potentially leading to extinction over time through impacts on life expectancy, reproduction or competitiveness. Physical habitat loss through activities like rainforest clearing also removes necessary niche habitats, eliminating dependent species.
Extensive genetic variety within a population or species is important for resilience, while low genetic diversity limits adaptations and increases extinction risk. Rare species face threats from hybridization and genetic pollution when interacting with more abundant species, which can swamp their gene pool and deplete purebred genetics. Currently, the primary driver of species extinction is habitat deterioration caused by human activities like agriculture, urban growth, forestry and mining. Habitat deterioration can directly poison environments or indirectly impact species' ability to compete for scarce resources against new competitors, potentially leading to extinction over time through impacts on life expectancy, reproduction or competitiveness. Physical habitat loss through activities like rainforest clearing also removes necessary niche habitats, eliminating dependent species.
Extensive genetic variety within a population or species is important for resilience, while low genetic diversity limits adaptations and increases extinction risk. Rare species face threats from hybridization and genetic pollution when interacting with more abundant species, which can swamp their gene pool and deplete purebred genetics. Currently, the primary driver of species extinction is habitat deterioration caused by human activities like agriculture, urban growth, forestry and mining. Habitat deterioration can directly poison environments or indirectly impact species' ability to compete for scarce resources against new competitors, potentially leading to extinction over time through impacts on life expectancy, reproduction or competitiveness. Physical habitat loss through activities like rainforest clearing also removes necessary niche habitats, eliminating dependent species.
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Extinction is likeliest for
rare species coming into contact with more abundant ones;
[44] interbreeding can swamp the rarer gene pool and create hybrids, depleting the purebred gene pool (for example, the endangered wild water buffalo is most threatened with extinction by genetic pollution from the abundant domestic water buffalo). Such extinctions are not always apparent from morphological (non-genetic) observations. Some degree of gene flow is a normal evolutionary process; nevertheless, hybridization (with or without introgression) threatens rare species' existence. A population's or a species' gene pool is the variety of genetic material present in its living individuals. Extensive genetic variety, or a wide gene pool, is linked to resilient populations that can endure periods of harsh selection. Low genetic diversity, on the other hand, limits the variety of adaptions that may be made (see inbreeding and population bottlenecks). The likelihood of extinction rises when native genes are replaced with foreign ones, which reduces genetic diversity within the original population. Currently, the primary human driver of species extinctions is habitat deterioration. Agriculture is the primary source of habitat deterioration on the planet, followed by urban growth, forestry, mining, and some fishing methods. The fitness landscape of a species may change due to habitat deterioration to the point that it is no longer able to exist and goes extinct. This can happen either directly, as in a poisonous environment, or indirectly, as in a species' capacity to compete successfully for scarce resources or against novel rival species. A species can be wiped out quickly by habitat deterioration caused by toxicity by contaminating or sterilizing all live individuals. By altering life expectancy, reproductive potential, or competitiveness, it can also happen over extended periods of time at lower toxin levels.
The physical loss of niche habitats is another kind of habitat degradation. This is frequently shown by the massive clearing of tropical rainforests to make way for open pastureland. By removing the thick forest, many species lost the habitat they required to exist. For instance, a fern that needs a forest's dense cover to protect it from the sun can no longer exist without it. The devastation of ocean floors caused by bottom trawling is another illustration.
Degradation of the environment is frequently accompanied by diminished resource availability
or the introduction of new competing species. Some species have been able to increase their range due to global warming, bringing unwanted[according to who? competing with other species that used to live there. These new competitors may act as predators at times, having an impact on prey species directly, or they may passively outcompete vulnerable species for scarce resources. During habitat deterioration, it is possible to run out of food and water, which will cause extinction.
