"Can we come up with a general theory of extinction that relates past to present, and perhaps helps us see a bit more clearly the nature of our own present-day situation?" (Eldredge, 1994)
"…ecologists need to develop a general theory for estimating species extinction from species–area relationships. Such theory is not yet available…" (He & Hubbell, 2013).
Plant and animal populations are disappearing. Species extinction occurs when all populations of a species disappear. We are exploring patterns and models that help us to understand extinction.
References:
Cronk, Q. (2016). Plant extinctions take time. Science, 353(6298), 446-447.
Eldredge, N. (1994). The miner's canary: Unraveling the mysteries of extinction. Princeton University Press.
He, F., & Hubbell, S. (2013). Estimating extinction from species–area relationships: why the numbers do not add up. Ecology, 94(9), 1905-1912.
Lambdon, P., & Cronk, Q. (2020). Extinction dynamics under extreme conservation threat: The flora of St Helena. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8, 41.