The extinction of birds will have a devastating effect on other species, largely through the destruction of plants upon which they feed. The loss of scavengers could harm human populations by reducing the chance of disease spread. The loss of scavengers also has the effect of reducing soil nutrients that promote new plant growth. We discovered that a loss of fish is connected to a loss of fish eating birds. This brings up the question of whether the loss of marine fish is responsible, at least in part, for the loss of fish eating birds. Demonstrating causality between the loss of one species and its effects is difficult. This is largely due to the researcher's inability to isolate the variables the cause the extinction.

Much of the research on the causes and effects of extinction focuses on the extinction of one particular species or another. It often fails to consider the entirety of the environmental impact. Many times these relationships are obscure, but they are important if one is to understand the full impact of our actions as human beings on the ecosystems of which we are a part. This study demonstrated that much more emphasis needs to be placed on studying the interrelationships and complexities of the ecosystem.

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