Extinction

More than 999 of every 1000 species that have ever lived on the planet have become extinct. As part of evolution, extinction of the old allows emergence of the new. It is integral to the Earth's continually changing range and richness of life-forms. Extinction: Not the End of the World? is a highly readable introduction to the causes of extinction, the different types of extinction and how relevant it is to the world today.

Extinction: Not the End of the World? discusses today's key issues, from biodiversity and conservation to the threat of human extinction, as well as exploring the major extinction events of the past and explaining how scientists know all this. Throughout Extinction: Not the End of the World? there are engaging extinction case studies from around the world showing, for example, how local extinctions such as the large blue butterfly can be reversed. Presenting the latest research in an accessible and engaging way, this is a complete introduction to an important and often complex subject.

Extinction: Not the End of the World? is published to accompany the major new exhibition of the same name which opens at the Natural History Museum, London, in February 2013.

- The nature of extinction
- Types of extinction
- Causes of extinction
- Extinction and biodiversity
- The sixth mass extinction?
- Are humans heading for extinction?
- The importance of extinction today
- Extinction and conservation