The extinction paradox generally refers to the observation that despite the ongoing loss of species and biodiversity, there can be scenarios where certain aspects of ecosystems or groups of species do not show expected declines in abundance or ecological function. This can lead to a disconnect between the apparent health of ecosystems and the reality of ongoing species losses. One interpretation of the extinction paradox is that some ecological processes may continue to function adequately even as specific species go extinct. For example, ecosystems often have redundancy, where multiple species perform similar roles.
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