Secondary extinctions of biodiversity

•We develop a conceptual model of when extinctions generate further extinctions.•Specialized interactors, including ‘cryptic specialists’, incur elevated risk.•Risk is also higher for interaction-dependent species that cannot rapidly evolve.•Multiple stressors may circumvent ecological buffers or offset each other.•We provide conservation planning tactics and critical directions for research.

Extinctions beget further extinctions when species lose obligate mutualists, predators, prey, or hosts. Here, we develop a conceptual model of species and community attributes affecting secondary extinction likelihood, incorporating mechanisms that buffer organisms against partner loss. Specialized interactors, including ‘cryptic specialists’ with diverse but nonredundant partner assemblages, incur elevated risk. Risk is also higher for species that cannot either evolve new traits following partner loss or obtain novel partners in communities reorganizing under changing environmental conditions. Partner loss occurs alongside other anthropogenic impacts; multiple stressors can circumvent ecological buffers, enhancing secondary extinction risk. Stressors can also offset each other, reducing secondary extinction risk, a hitherto unappreciated phenomenon. This synthesis suggests improved conservation planning tactics and critical directions for research on secondary extinctions.