- Habitat loss: Destruction or fragmentation of an organism's natural habitat can deprive it of essential resources and suitable living conditions, leading to a decline in population and eventually extinction.
- Overexploitation: Excessive hunting, fishing, or collection can reduce a species' population to unsustainable levels, resulting in extinction.
- Climate change: Rapid and significant alterations in environmental conditions, such as temperature, precipitation patterns, and sea level rise, can make it challenging for a species to adapt and survive, ultimately causing extinction.
- Disease and parasites: Epidemic diseases or the introduction of non-native parasites can decimate a population, leading to extinction if the species lacks immunity or effective defenses against the pathogens.
- Invasive species: The introduction of non-native species into an area can disrupt ecosystems, compete with native species for resources, transmit diseases, and lead to the displacement or extinction of native organisms.
- Natural disasters: Catastrophic events like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, or meteor impacts can cause sudden and widespread habitat destruction or direct mortality, potentially wiping out entire species.
- Loss of genetic diversity: A lack of genetic variability within a species due to factors such as inbreeding or genetic drift can make it less adaptable to environmental changes and more susceptible to extinction.