Woolly mammoths were grass-eating mammals that resembled elephants but with heavy coats, large tusks, and small ears that made them suited for extremely cold weather of the ice age. In addition to hunting by humans, which other conditions may have caused woolly mammoths to become less reproductively successful and eventually become extinct at the end of the last ice age?

Woolly mammoths' decline in reproductive success and eventual extinction were likely influenced by a combination of factors besides human hunting, including:

1. Climate Change: As the last Ice Age ended, Earth’s climate warmed significantly. This led to the melting of ice sheets and a transformation of the mammoth’s habitats. The grasslands they thrived on, known as the mammoth steppe, began to disappear, replaced by forests and wetlands not as suitable for mammoths. This change would have reduced the mammoths' food supply and altered their natural living conditions.

2. Loss of Habitat: With the changing environment, the expanses of open grassland that woolly mammoths used for grazing, moving, and reproducing began to shrink. As forests expanded, this would have fragmented the mammoth populations, leading to smaller, isolated groups that had more difficulty finding mates and could have lowered genetic diversity.

3. Resource Competition: Woolly mammoths shared their environment with other large herbivores like mastodons, bison, and horses. As the available habitat and resources dwindled, competition for food would have intensified, making it more difficult for mammoths to find the large amounts of vegetation they needed to survive.

4. Changes in Predation: Young and weak mammoths may have fallen prey to an increasing number of predators. As the ice receded, new predators could have moved into mammoth territory, possibly increasing predation rates, especially on the more vulnerable juvenile mammoths.

5. Disease: Just like with any species, disease can cause a decline in population, especially if the species' numbers are already dwindling. New pathogens transferred between species or from humans could have emerged, putting additional stress on the population.

6. Inbreeding: As populations became more isolated due to habitat fragmentation, the genetic diversity within those groups would have decreased. This could have led to inbreeding depression, where the genetic health of the population declines, potentially leading to fewer successful births and survival of offspring.

Extra: Understanding the concept of extinction and the factors that can lead to a species' decline is important in ecology and evolutionary biology. For many animals, like the woolly mammoths, their existence is closely tied to their environment. When drastic changes occur, whether through natural processes or human activities, it can impact their ability to survive and reproduce.

Climate change, for example, profoundly affects ecosystems. It can result in habitat loss, altered food webs, and the creation of barriers that prevent species from migrating to more suitable areas. Additionally, the concept of competition is vital in ecology; when multiple species rely on the same resources, any changes to the availability of those resources can significantly affect all species involved.

Disease and genetics also play critical roles in the survival of a species. A population with high genetic diversity is generally more resilient to environmental changes and disease since there's a higher likelihood that some individuals will have advantageous traits that allow them to survive. Conversely, low genetic diversity, often a result of inbreeding, can make a population more susceptible to diseases and reproductive failures.

Understanding the factors that led to the extinction of species like the woolly mammoth can help scientists predict and mitigate the effects of similar conditions on currently endangered species, emphasizing the importance of conservation and environmental management efforts.