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Esta especie prehistórica desapareció, puesto que el clima cambió.

Esta especie prehistórica desapareció, puesto que el clima cambió.
This prehistoric species disappeared, since the climate changed.
From Lesson 197:Cause connectors (ya que, puesto que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Esta especie prehistórica desapareció, puesto que el clima cambió.

What is the difference between puesto que and porque in this sentence?
Puesto que translates to 'since' or 'given that'. You could absolutely use porque (because) here, but puesto que is slightly more formal. It is often used when the cause (the climate changing) is already known, obvious, or treated as an established fact.
Can I move puesto que to the beginning of the sentence?
Yes! While it is uncommon to start a sentence with porque, it is very natural to start one with puesto que. You could easily say: Puesto que el clima cambió, esta especie prehistórica desapareció.
Why does it say el clima when the word ends in '-a'?
This is a great exception to remember. Clima is a masculine noun, which is why it takes el. Many Spanish words that end in '-ma' are masculine because they originally come from Greek, such as el problema, el sistema, and el idioma.
How can I tell that especie is feminine (Esta especie) if it ends in '-e'?
Nouns ending in '-e' can be masculine or feminine, so you often just have to memorize their gender. However, a helpful trick is that words ending in '-cie' are almost always feminine in Spanish, like la superficie (the surface) or la especie.
Since a changing climate takes a long time, why are desapareció and cambió in the preterite tense instead of the imperfect?
Even though these physical processes took centuries, the preterite tense is used here to state them as completed, historical facts. We are focusing on the finished results (the species is gone, the climate shifted) rather than describing the ongoing process of them happening in the background.

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