Final answer:
The studies on extinction across different taxonomic groups reveal that species with small geographic ranges are highly susceptible to extinction due to habitat destruction, with the loss of habitat leading to a non-linear increase in extinctions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The study on increased extinction across all guilds looked at how various species, especially those with small geographic ranges, are being affected by habitat destruction and other anthropogenic factors. It showed that the rate of predicted extinctions depends on the number of species within small geographic ranges, and that habitat destruction has a highly non-linear relationship to the loss of species. For example, in eastern North America, the loss of half the forest habitat was predicted to result in the loss of 16% of species, whereas the loss of the remaining habitat would lead to the extinction of the remaining 84% of species.
Studies like those conducted by Peres and Palacios (2007) on hunting impacts in the Amazon have demonstrated faunal biomass collapses predominantly through declines and local extinctions of large-bodied species. Other research, such as that by Koh et al. (2004) and Sodhi et al. (2008), has identified ecological traits that make certain species more vulnerable to habitat changes and disturbances. These characteristics include factors like large body size, high larval host plant specificity, forest dependency, and specific pollination systems.