Mass Extinctions and Their Causes

Mass extinction is a relatively rapid and significant decrease in the diversity of life on Earth.

The Holocene extinction event is not considered a major mass extinction event as it is still ongoing and its full impact is yet to be determined.

The Permian-Triassic extinction event is estimated to have caused the extinction of approximately 90% of all marine species and 70% of all terrestrial vertebrate species.

The leading hypothesis for the cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event is the impact of a large asteroid or comet in the Gulf of Mexico.

Nuclear war is not a natural cause of mass extinctions, but it is a potential cause of a human-caused mass extinction.

Adaptive radiation is the term used to describe the period of time following a mass extinction event, during which new species evolve and diversify to fill the empty ecological niches left by the extinct species.

The evolution of humans after the last glacial period is not an example of an adaptive radiation event, as it did not occur after a mass extinction event.

Extinction studies is the term used to describe the study of mass extinctions and their causes.

Increased human population is not a potential consequence of mass extinctions, but it is a potential cause of a human-caused mass extinction.

Adaptation is the term used to describe the process by which species adapt to new environmental conditions after a mass extinction event.

Developing the ability to fly is not an example of an adaptation that helped species survive the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, as flying animals were already present before the extinction event.

Interglacial period is the term used to describe the period of time between two mass extinction events.

Increased technological development is not a potential impact of a mass extinction event on human society, as it is a human-caused phenomenon.

Taphonomy is the term used to describe the study of the fossil record to understand past mass extinction events.