AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -As species go extinct, they are taken out of the food chain. Animals that ate the newly-extinct species have to find new food sources or starve. This can damage the populations of other plants or animals. Furthermore, if a predator goes extinct, its prey’s population can proliferate, unbalancing local ecosystems.

Detailed explanation-2: -If it changes more rapidly, few adaptive walks will be completed, and the population will be poorly adapted most of the time. If it changes very rapidly selection may be inadequate to restore adaptation quickly enough, and the population will dwindle and eventually become extinct.

Detailed explanation-3: -Background extinction rate, or normal extinction rate, refers to the number of species that would be expected to go extinct over a period of time, based on non-anthropogenic (non-human) factors.

Detailed explanation-4: -Ecological importance Each species that is lost triggers the loss of other species within its ecosystem. Humans depend on healthy ecosystems to purify our environment. Without healthy forests, grasslands, rivers, oceans and other ecosystems, we will not have clean air, water, or land.