Which combination of factors can contribute to extinction?

• A. Habitat loss and climate change only.
• B. Overexploitation and predation only.
• C. Habitat loss, overexploitation, disease, and other threats.
• D. Seasonal migration alone.

Answer: (C)

Extinction risk grows most when multiple pressures hit a species at once and these pressures amplify one another. Habitat loss shrinks and fragments the living space a species relies on, isolating populations and reducing genetic diversity, which makes recovery harder. Overexploitation directly reduces numbers faster than they can reproduce, pushing populations toward collapse. Disease can spread more easily and cause severe mortality in small, stressed populations, especially when other threats have already weakened them. Add in other threats like climate change, pollution, or invasive species, and the combined effects push a species past the point of no return more readily than any single factor would alone. Seasonal migration by itself isn’t typically enough to drive extinction, though it can elevate risk when paired with these other pressures. That’s why the option listing habitat loss, overexploitation, disease, and other threats best captures how extinction can occur.