Extinction: Is It in the Genes?

[JBeukema]

Sometimes it's just a case of being a member of the wrong family. Researchers analyzing evidence from 200 million years of fossil records have concluded that some lines of living organisms don't need a cataclysmic event to wipe them out. They just seem destined to go extinct.

Extinction: Is It in the Genes? -- Berardelli 2009 (807): 1 -- ScienceNOW

 

[Old Rocks]

Even more interesting

The findings have relevance to today's conservation efforts, says lead author Roy. "In the current extinction crisis," he says, "we obviously won't be able to save every species that is impacted by human activities." So a major goal would be to design strategies to preserve the genera and families, "even as we lose species," he says. "That way, theoretically at least, we are protecting the potential for these lineages to diversify again in the future."