New Species Extinction A fact of life that must be faced by all groups of organisms. Many that were prevalent in the past have since gone extinct Prospects for groups now are bleak. Average of ca. Historically Thought that it was an error, and that we have not found the plants or animals yet.
Some groups are more prone to extinction that others by nature of their biology.
Organisms with very specific environmental needs vs. generalists. Differences may be ecological, breeding behavior, physiological etc. Any shift in the environment could cause changes in a species ability to persist in that environment. Common examples include temperature, moisture, salinity, etc. Found that periods of mass extinction occur in regular cycles of every 25-29 million years.