Extinction: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #605

by Paul B. Wignall

Most people are familiar with the dodo and the dinosaur, but extinction has occurred throughout the history of life, with the result that nearly all the species that have ever existed are now extinct. Today, species are disappearing at an ever increasing rate, whilst past losses have occurred during several great crises. Issues such as habitat destruction, conservation, climate change, and, during major crises, volacanism and meteorite impact, can all contribute towards the demise of a group.

In this Very Short Introduction , Paul B. Wignall looks at the causes and nature of extinctions, past and present, and the factors that can make a species vulnerable. Summarising what we know about all of the major and minor exctinction events, he examines some of the greatest debates in modern science, such as the relative role of climate and humans in the death of the Pleistocene megafauna, including mammoths and giant ground sloths, and the roles that global warming, ocean acidification, and deforestation are playing in present-day extinctions


ABOUT THE SERIES : The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Biology, Environment, Nature, History

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2019

About the author

Dr. Paul Wignall is professor of palaeoenvironments affiliated with the University of Leeds (Leeds, UK), Faculty of Environment, since 1989. His research interests include sedimentology, mass extinction events, palaeontology, marine anoxia, and basin history.

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the other titles in this excellent series, this one is a concise summary of a very wide body of knowledge on what scientists know to date about this biological phenomenon. It is impressive and encouraging for me that life, once it has taken hold from humble beginnings always finds a way (thanks Jurassic Park) even under extreme planet-wide conditions that are deadly to most, as has happened five times in geological history. Each time the reset button is pressed, figuratively speaking, those lifeforms that pull through evolve and diversify once again to fill the empty ecological niches left by the dead. There is even a trend towards higher total diversity of species over time.

The book talks predictably enough about these mass extinction events and their plausible causes, and the scientific evidence weighing for and against them. We learn that life is generally resilient to perturbation, and it takes a great deal of destruction of habitat for instance, to eliminate the majority of a given area's community of species. Heightened volcanism and extra-terrestrial meteorites are the two most deadly proximate triggers of mass extinctions due to the series of catastrophes they set off. The final chapter discusses the Pleistocene megafauna extinctions and here the opinion was quite clearly favouring the over kill theory, which I strongly concur with. The killing of other life has accelerated tremendously since, with the non-selective demise of organisms of all sizes today resulting in a sixth mass extinction event caused by one species - us.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im starting to really love this series, if nothing else than for brevity. This was about the social history of the acceptance of extinctions within the scientific community starting with cuvier. The book then gave a quick explanation of the few mass extinctions and many other organisms that have disappeared.

This was not a very systematically written text, and as such it lacked a strong sense or organization.

If this book looks good to you, I advocate opting out and reading kolbert’s sixth extinction instead. It had a much better presentation of the material (and also was being generally useful for understanding some modern issues with climate change.

But alas, this is functional and short.

[Eric Sullenberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Focuses more on the mechanisms of Extinction, that was extinctions themselves. It is somewhat necessary, but it relies a little heavily on statistical models rather than direct evidence. Possibly gets into a little bit of climate change denialism, but is at least well supported. The big fact that is missed in the climate change denialism is that even though we are coming out of an Ice Age, it is the rate of change that is concerning. Probably not a bad introduction, but I didn't learn much and thought it was too technical for my students.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The paleontologist Paul Wignell published Extinction: A Very Short Introduction in 2019. The book has illustrations, including maps, a timeline, and graphs. The book has illustrations of biological organisms that went extinct during “the great catastrophes” in the history of life on Earth (Wignell 51-75). The book has a section entitled “further reading” (Wignell 117-120). The book has an index. Chapter 1 is entitled “Why Extinctions Happen” (Wignell 1-17). Chapter 2 is on extinction in the early 21st Century. This chapter also covers efforts to slow or stop extinction in the early 21st Century (Wignell 18-32). Chapter 3 is entitled “Extinction in the Past” (Wignell 33-50). Chapter 4 is on “the great catastrophes” in the history of life on Earth (Wignell 51-75). Wignell writes Chapter 5 covers “the various proposed causes of mass extinctions, often the kill mechanisms” (Wignell 76). Chapter 6 is entitled “What happened to the Ice Age megafauna” (Wignell 96-116). The end of the Ice Age was not a mass extinction event “because losses of organisms overall were trivial compared to the scale experienced during the big five mass extinctions” (Wignell 96). The end of Ice Age megafauna is a significant topic in extinction studies because of the role that humans and climate change may have played in the end of Ice Age megafauna. The chapter also covers the extinction of the Neanderthals (Wignell 108-115). Wignell’s book on Extinction is a well-done introduction to the concept of Extinction.

[Freya Abbas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been trying to learn more about nature and creatures and stuff, so this was a nice introduction. The author considers both climate change and human activity explanations for mass extinctions. The chapter on ice age megafauna was the most interesting. I will definitely continue reading more on this topic.

[Loren Picard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative. The graphs and charts are worth the price of the book. A good companion book to Elizabeth's Kolberts's "The Sixth Extinction."

[David P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little dry

[Michael Buttner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neanderthals are still out there. Hiding in the shadows.

[Madeleine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tad technical at times, but nevertheless very intriguing.

[Tara Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short and easy-to-understand book about a big issue—extinction. It breaks down complicated ideas in a simple way, helping readers grasp why species disappear and what it means for our world. If you're curious about environmental challenges but want something quick and clear, this book is a good pick. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Kaustubh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent primer on Extinctions - what we know, how we think we know these things, and what we don’t have a good idea about, including drivers, mechanisms, and processes. In his tone, the author leans somewhat towards the fringe side by giving real estate to discussions such as a cometary driver for the Younger Dryas event (occurring relatively recently ~12,000 years ago) and some other controversial aspects (like the debate on Neanderthals), although, he is very objective in his narration & I believe, balances the evidence rather nicely. There were critical bits about IPCC projections that I found were not wholly necessary, although these appeared to be balanced by appraisals of the advantages that other governmental regulatory bodies have brought to policy (e.g. CITES). Overall, as has been the case for others in the “Very Short Introduction” series, I found this book to be informative and enjoyable!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's the best Very Short Introduction I've read (I've read probably about a dozen so far) - hit the Goldilocks Point on being explanational vs. being easy to understand. Felt very even-handed on what is likely vs. what we know.