Change in environment is one of the major catalysts in making a species go through some form of adaptation, adaptation to make the species (more) suitable to living in the environment. If that can't be done; extinct. Like you so rightly expressed.
Basically any change in the environment the species is in directly affects it, because evolution is such a long event compared to our lifespans it may not be noticeable. Though obviously extinction can be a very fast chain of events lasting even a few years, adaptation on the other hand is slower paced, usually.
Think of the shark/ray split.