Secondary extinctions of biodiversity
Abstract
Extinctions beget further extinctions when species lose obligate mutualists, predators, prey, or hosts. Here, we develop a conceptual model of species and community attributes affecting secondary extinction likelihood, incorporating mechanisms that buffer organisms against partner loss. Specialized interactors, including 'cryptic specialists' with diverse but nonredundant partner assemblages, incur elevated risk. Risk is also higher for species that cannot either evolve new traits following partner loss or obtain novel partners in communities reorganizing under changing environmental conditions. Partner loss occurs alongside other anthropogenic impacts; multiple stressors can circumvent ecological buffers, enhancing secondary extinction risk. Stressors can also offset each other, reducing secondary extinction risk, a hitherto unappreciated phenomenon. This synthesis suggests improved conservation planning tactics and critical directions for research on secondary extinctions.
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Closely linked pairs of species involved in relationships like pollination may become extinct simultaneously.
“Similarly, closely linked pairs of species involved in relationships like pollination may become extinct simultaneously (49–51).”
From Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction (2020) · cites this paper as [49]
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References 100 · Cited by 188
- Authors
- Brodie, J. F., Aslan, C. E., Rogers, H. S., Redford, K. H., Maron, J. L., Bronstein, J. L., & Groves, C. R.
- Affiliations
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (US)
- Rice University (US)
- University of Montana (US)
- University of Arizona (US)
- The Nature Conservancy (US)
- Corresponding author
- Brodie, Jedediah F.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Trends in Ecology & Evolution
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-12
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 664-672
- ISSN
- 0169-5347 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2065921680
- Cited by
- 188
- References
- 100
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 13 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 1.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Trends in Ecology & Evolution (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Plant and animal studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecological Modeling › Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Keywords
- secondary extinction, extinction cascades, loss of a partner, community reorganization, multiple stressors, conservation planning, biodiversity loss
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Conservation of Natural Resources, Biological Evolution, Models, Biological, Risk Factors, Biodiversity, Extinction, Biological
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