Out with a Whimper

Extinction is forever. Once the last individual of an animal, plant, or other living species dies, that entire species is gone and will not evolve in the exact same form again. The popular image of extinction is one of disastrous, sudden death—dinosaurs wiped out by an asteroid, say, or rainforest creatures plowed under along with their precious habitat. But extinction can also be a slower, subtler process. Many species disappear without any fanfare at all, and though extinction may be a common end for most...