The Sixth Extinction Glossary

background extinction: a typical plant or animal extinction; about one species goes extinct every 700 years

madness gene: a theory of Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo that humans tend to be restless and ambitious

mass extinction: an event in which vast numbers of species go extinct at the same time, within a concentrated time frame

megafauna: animals of large size

natural selection: British naturalist Charles Darwin’s theory that organisms that are better able to adapt produce more offspring, making their odds of surviving greater

paradigm shift: the intellectual revolution that occurs when a shared belief no longer seems plausible

relaxation: the ecological term used to describe a delay of extinction that sometimes happens for smaller populations