Question

Habitat destruction is the leading cause for declining populations of species on our planet. Due to human development, industry, and forestry, humans are destroying the habitat of many species at an alarming rate. Consider the bald eagle. The bald eagle population was threatened in the late 60s and early 70s. Thanks to an aggressive bald eagle protection program, bald eagle numbers in the wild have soared as seen in the population graph above. The bald eagle's population very nearly reached extinction. Why did the bald eagle's declining population make it more vulnerable to extinction?

Answer 1

Answer: Due to loss of genetic diversity.

Explanation:

• Genetic diversity is the variation in the genes among the population of organisms.

• Genetic diversity helps the organisms to adapt to the changing environments and hence, increase their population.

• As the population of the endangered species is reduced, their genetic diversity is also lost.

• So, due to the loss of the genetic diversity the bald eagle's declining population becomes more vulnerable to extinction as they cannot adapt to the changing environment.

Answer 2

The decrease in the number of eagles made them more vulnerable to extinction because people were hunting them and they couldn't repopulate as fast as they were being killed.