Which of the Following Statements Regarding Extinction is the Most

Question

Which of the following statements regarding extinction is the most accurate?
A) A large percentage of species are immune from extinction; however, rates of extinction may increase with continued human impacts.
B) Extinctions occur only periodically, separated by long time spans with no extinctions.
C) Extinction is occurring at a similar rate now as compared to historical fossil evidence.
D) The small-population approach is inferior to the declining-population approach if the goal is to conserve the maximum number of species in a given region.

Accepted Answer

The small-population approach focuses on species that are already at great risk of extinction due to their small population sizes, while the declining-population approach aims to identify and mitigate the factors causing populations to decline before they reach critically low levels. The declining-population approach is generally considered more effective for conserving the maximum number of species because it addresses problems earlier in the process of population decline, potentially preventing species from becoming critically endangered in the first place.