Which word could best replace susceptible in paragraph 3? 3 …
Which word could best replace susceptible in paragraph 3? 3 As few as 1,864 giant pandas live in their native habitat, while another 300 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around the world. The largest threat to giant panda survival is habitat destruction. People in need of food and income have cleared forests for agriculture and timber. This logging has fragmented a once continuous habitat, leaving small groups of pandas isolated from each other. When populations become small, they are extremely susceptible to extinction due to environmental or genetic influences, such as drought or inbreeding. Small populations cannot rebound the same way large populations do; as groups of pandas become more isolated, it is more likely that reproduction, disease resistance and population stability will be threatened.