The discussion of whether more extinctions in the fossil record have been caused by

competition, predation, disease, or catastrophe is a topic of discussion; Mark Newman, the

author of Modeling Extinction, argues for a mathematical model that falls in all positions.[5] By
comparing the relative importance of genetic factors compared to environmental ones as the
causes of extinction, it has been compared to the nature vs. nurture controversy. When worries
about human extinction have been voiced, notably in Sir Martin Rees' 2003 book Our Final
Hour, those worries have been focused on the consequences of technology or climate change
calamity.

Environmental organizations and some governments are currently concerned about the
extinction of species brought on by humanity, and they work to stop further extinctions by
implementing a variety of conservation programs[9]. Humans can bring about the extinction of
a species through overharvesting, pollution, habitat destruction, the introduction of invasive
species (such as new predators and food competitors), overhunting, and other factors. The
extinction catastrophe is mostly caused by explosive, unsustainable human population
expansion and rising per capita demand. Since the year 1500, the arbitrary period chosen to
designate "recent" extinctions, up until the year 2004, 784 extinctions have been officially
documented, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with
many more likely to have gone unrecorded. Since 2004, a number of species have also been
declared extinct.

A species will become extinct if environmental deterioration and the accumulation of

marginally harmful mutations outpace adaptation's ability to increase population fitness. [40]
Smaller populations have fewer beneficial mutations entering the population each generation,
which slows adaptation. Limited populations also make it simpler for mildly gene mutations to
be fixed; the ensuing positive feedback loop between a small population size and poor fitness
can end in mutational breakdown.

At baseline rates of genus extinction, a species' small population size and increased
susceptibility to local environmental disasters are both caused by a species' limited geographic
distribution. However, when mass extinction rates increase, this factor becomes less significant.
Extinction rates can be influenced by every element that impacts evolvability, such as balancing
selection, cryptic genetic diversity, phenotypic plasticity, and resilience, in addition to
population size. A population has a better chance of surviving a short-term shift in environment
if its gene pool is diversified or deep. A species' odds of going extinct might rise in response to
factors that promote or induce genetic diversity loss.
When a species that has evolved to live in a particular ecosystem is subjected to genetic
pollution, such as unchecked hybridization, introgression, and genetic swamping that results in
homogeneity or out-competition from the introduced (or hybrid) species, it can lead to
extinction[42]. Endangered populations may go extinct if new populations are imported,
created by human breeding practices, or brought together through habitat change.