Introduction to the show's theme: the balance between evolution and extinction

• A brief definition of extinction and basic facts about species' lifespans
• The natural process of extinction creates opportunities for new species
• Are humans causing a new mass extinction?

Geological research into the planet's largest mass extinction

• Uncovering fossils from the Permian period
• Exploring the cataclysmic event that destroyed almost all Permian species and began the Triassic period
• Description of the dramatic environmental changes that produce mass extinction

Dinosaurs and mammals after the Permian extinction

• The evolution of dinosaurs, the dominant species after the Permian extinction
• The evolution of small mammals, minor species during the dinosaurs' era
• Researching dinosaur and mammal fossils in the Gobi desert

The end of dinosaur supremacy, and the rise of mammals

• The K-T extinction event: an asteroid impact that changed life on earth
• Dinosaurs die, but small mammals survive
• Mammals grow larger, diversify, and spread out across the world
• Emergence of monkeys, apes, and, eventually, human-like primates

Human dominance and the escalating rate of animal extinction

• Are humans causing the next great extinction?
• Exploring animal disappearance in a pristine-looking Thai forest
• The disappearance of large carnivores, the sign of a failing ecosystem
• Natural habitats and the relationships among plants, herbivores, and carnivores
• Human destruction of natural habitats, a primary cause of extinctions

Invasive species, and the extinction of native life in Hawaii

• The formation of Hawaii's unique ecosystem
• Fossil research in a Hawaiian sinkhole: documenting the arrival of Polynesians, Europeans, and invasive species
• Humans spread invasive species around the world
• Two examples of invasive species: zebra mussels and brown tree snakes
• The costs of trying to contain invasive species

Understanding "weed species"

• What makes invading species successful?
• Humans: the most invasive weed species on earth
• The accelerating rate of extinction as a threat to all life
• In North Dakota, using one weed species to battle another: leafy spurge versus flea beetle

The health of the Thai ecosystem, and of our planet

• Is it too late to stop change in the Thai forests?
• Knowledge, the greatest tool against extinction
• Can we slow the rate of human-caused species extinction and return to the natural cycle of evolution and extinction?