Global biodiversity is the measure of biodiversity on planet Earth and is defined as the total variability of life forms. More than 99 percent of all species that ever lived on Earth are estimated to be extinct. Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 2 million to 1 trillion, of which about 1.74 million have been databased thus far and over 80 percent have not yet been described. More recently, in May 2016, scientists reported that 1 trillion species are estimated to be on Earth currently with only one-thousandth of one percent described. The total amount of DNA base pairs on Earth, as a possible approximation of global biodiversity, is estimated at 5.0 x 1037, and weighs 50 billion tonnes. In comparison, the total mass of the biosphere has been estimated to be as much as 4 TtC (trillion tons of carbon).
In other related studies, around 1.9 million extinct species are believed to have been described currently, but some scientists believe 20% are synonyms, reducing the total valid described species to 1.5 million. In 2013, a study published in Science estimated there to be 5 ± 3 million extant species on Earth. Another study, published in 2011 by PLoS Biology, estimated there to be 8.7 million ± 1.3 million eukaryotic species on Earth. Some 250,000 valid fossil species have been described, but this is believed to be a small proportion of all species that have ever lived.
Global biodiversity is affected by extinction and speciation. The background extinction rate varies among taxa but it is estimated that there is approximately one extinction per million species years. Mammal species, for example, typically persist for 1 million years. Biodiversity has grown and shrunk in earth's past due to (presumably) abiotic factors such as extinction events caused by geologically rapid changes in climate. Climate change 299 million years ago was one such event. A cooling and drying resulted in catastrophic rainforest collapse and subsequently a great loss of diversity, especially of amphibians.
Drivers that affect biodiversity
Habitat change (see: habitat fragmentation or habitat destruction) is the most important driver currently affecting biodiversity, as some 40% of forests and ice-free habitats have been converted to cropland or pasture. Other drivers are: overexploitation, pollution, invasive species, and climate change.
Measuring diversity
Biodiversity is usually plotted as the richness of a geographic area, with some reference to a temporal scale. Types of biodiversity include taxonomic or species, ecological, morphological, and genetic diversity. Taxonomic diversity, that is the number of species, genera, family is the most commonly assessed type. A few studies have attempted to quantitatively clarify the relationship between different types of diversity. For example, the biologist Sarda Sahney has found a close link between vertebrate taxonomic and ecological diversity.
Known species
Chapman, 2005 and 2009 has attempted to compile perhaps the most comprehensive recent statistics on numbers of extant species, drawing on a range of published and unpublished sources, and has come up with a figure of approximately 1.9 million estimated described taxa, as against possibly a total of between 11 and 12 million anticipated species overall (described plus undescribed), though other reported values for the latter vary widely. It is important to note that in many cases, the values given for "Described" species are an estimate only (sometimes a mean of reported figures in the literature) since for many of the larger groups in particular, comprehensive lists of valid species names do not currently exist. For fossil species, exact or even approximate numbers are harder to find; Raup, 1986 includes data based on a compilation of 250,000 fossil species so the true number is undoubtedly somewhat higher than this. It should also be noted that the number of described species is increasing by around 18,000–19,000 extant, and approaching 2,000 fossil species each year, as of 2012. The number of published species names is higher than the number of described species, sometimes considerably so, on account of the publication, through time, of multiple names (synonyms) for the same accepted taxon in many cases.
Based on Chapman's (2009) report, the estimated numbers of described extant species as of 2009 can be broken down as follows:
| Major/Component group | Described | Global estimate (described + undescribed) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chordates | 64,788 | ~80,500 | ||
| ↳ | Mammals | 5,487 | ~5,500 | |
| ↳ | Birds | 9,990 | >10,000 | |
| ↳ | Reptiles | 8,734 | ~10,000 | |
| ↳ | Amphibia | 6,515 | ~15,000 | |
| ↳ | Fishes | 31,153 | ~40,000 | |
| ↳ | Agnatha | 116 | unknown | |
| ↳ | Cephalochordata | 33 | unknown | |
| ↳ | Tunicata | 2,760 | unknown | |
| Invertebrates | ~1,359,365 | ~6,755,830 | ||
| ↳ | Hemichordata | 108 | ~110 | |
| ↳ | Echinodermata | 7,003 | ~14,000 | |
| ↳ | Insecta | ~1,000,000 (965,431–1,015,897) | ~5,000,000 | |
| ↳ | Archaeognatha | 470 |
| |
| ↳ | Blattodea | 3,684–4,000 |
| |
| ↳ | Coleoptera | 360,000–~400,000 | 1,100,000 | |
| ↳ | Dermaptera | 1,816 |
| |
| ↳ | Diptera | 152,956 | 240,000 | |
| ↳ | Embioptera | 200–300 | 2,000 | |
| ↳ | Ephemeroptera | 2,500–<3,000 |
| |
| ↳ | Hemiptera | 80,000–88,000 |
| |
| ↳ | Hymenoptera | 115,000 | >300,000 | |
| ↳ | Isoptera | 2,600–2,800 | 4,000 | |
| ↳ | Lepidoptera | 174,250 | 300,000–500,000 | |
| ↳ | Mantodea | 2,200 |
| |
| ↳ | Mecoptera | 481 |
| |
| ↳ | Megaloptera | 250–300 |
| |
| ↳ | Neuroptera | ~5,000 |
| |
| ↳ | Notoptera | 55 |
| |
| ↳ | Odonata | 6,500 |
| |
| ↳ | Orthoptera | 24,380 |
| |
| ↳ | Phasmatodea (Phasmida) | 2,500–3,300 |
| |
| ↳ | Phthiraptera | >3,000–~3,200 |
| |
| ↳ | Plecoptera | 2,274 |
| |
| ↳ | Psocoptera | 3,200–~3,500 |
| |
| ↳ | Siphonaptera | 2,525 |
| |
| ↳ | Strepsiptera | 596 |
| |
| ↳ | Thysanoptera | ~6,000 |
| |
| ↳ | Trichoptera | 12,627 |
| |
| ↳ | Zoraptera | 28 |
| |
| ↳ | Zygentoma (Thysanura) | 370 |
| |
| ↳ | Arachnida | 102,248 | ~600,000 | |
| ↳ | Pycnogonida | 1,340 | unknown | |
| ↳ | Myriapoda | 16,072 | ~90,000 | |
| ↳ | Crustacea | 47,000 | 150,000 | |
| ↳ | Onychophora | 165 | ~220 | |
| ↳ | non-Insect Hexapoda | 9,048 | 52,000 | |
| ↳ | Mollusca | ~85,000 | ~200,000 | |
| ↳ | Annelida | 16,763 | ~30,000 | |
| ↳ | Nematoda | <25,000 | ~500,000 | |
| ↳ | Acanthocephala | 1,150 | ~1,500 | |
| ↳ | Platyhelminthes | 20,000 | ~80,000 | |
| ↳ | Cnidaria | 9,795 | unknown | |
| ↳ | Porifera | ~6,000 | ~18,000 | |
| ↳ | Other Invertebrates | 12,673 | ~20,000 | |
| ↳ | Placozoa | 1 | - | |
| ↳ | Monoblastozoa | 1 | - | |
| ↳ | Mesozoa (Rhombozoa, Orthonectida) | 106 | - | |
| ↳ | Ctenophora | 166 | 200 | |
| ↳ | Nemertea (Nemertina) | 1,200 | 5,000–10,000 | |
| ↳ | Rotifera | 2,180 | - | |
| ↳ | Gastrotricha | 400 | - | |
| ↳ | Kinorhyncha | 130 | - | |
| ↳ | Nematomorpha | 331 | ~2,000 | |
| ↳ | Entoprocta (Kamptozoa) | 170 | 170 | |
| ↳ | Gnathostomulida | 97 | - | |
| ↳ | Priapulida | 16 | - | |
| ↳ | Loricifera | 28 | >100 | |
| ↳ | Cycliophora | 1 | - | |
| ↳ | Sipuncula | 144 | - | |
| ↳ | Echiura | 176 | - | |
| ↳ | Tardigrada | 1,045 | - | |
| ↳ | Phoronida | 10 | - | |
| ↳ | Ectoprocta (Bryozoa) | 5,700 | ~5,000 | |
| ↳ | Brachiopoda | 550 | - | |
| ↳ | Pentastomida | 100 | - | |
| ↳ | Chaetognatha | 121 | - | |
| Plants sens. lat. | ~310,129 | ~390,800 | ||
| ↳ | Bryophyta | 16,236 | ~22,750 | |
| ↳ | Liverworts | ~5,000 | ~7,500 | |
| ↳ | Hornworts | 236 | ~250 | |
| ↳ | Mosses | ~11,000 | ~15,000 | |
| ↳ | Algae (Plant) | 12,272 | unknown | |
| ↳ | Charophyta | 2,125 | - | |
| ↳ | Chlorophyta | 4,045 | - | |
| ↳ | Glaucophyta | 5 | - | |
| ↳ | Rhodophyta | 6,097 | - | |
| ↳ | Vascular Plants | 281,621 | ~368,050 | |
| ↳ | Ferns and allies | ~12,000 | ~15,000 | |
| ↳ | Gymnosperms | ~1,021 | ~1,050 | |
| ↳ | Magnoliophyta | ~268,600 | ~352,000 | |
| Fungi | 98,998 (incl. Lichens 17,000) | 1,500,000 (incl. Lichens ~25,000) | ||
| Others | ~66,307 | ~2,600,500 | ||
| ↳ | Chromista [incl. brown algae, diatoms and other groups] | 25,044 | ~200,500 | |
| ↳ | Protoctista [i.e. residual protist groups] | ~28,871 | >1,000,000 | |
| ↳ | Prokaryota [ Bacteria and Archaea, excl. Cyanophyta] | 7,643 | ~1,000,000 | |
| ↳ | Cyanophyta | 2,664 | unknown | |
| ↳ | Viruses | 2,085 | 400,000 | |
| Total (2009 data) | 1,899,587 | ~11,327,630 | ||
Estimates of total number of species
However the total number of species for some taxa may be much higher.
In 1982, Terry Erwin published an estimate of global species richness of 30 million, by extrapolating from the numbers of beetles found in a species of tropical tree. In one species of tree, Erwin identified 1200 beetle species, of which he estimated 163 were found only in that type of tree. Given the 50,000 described tropical tree species, Erwin suggested that there are almost 10 million beetle species in the tropics. In 2011 a study published in PLoS Biology estimated there to be 8.7 million ± 1.3 million eukaryotic species on Earth. A 2016 study concludes that Earth is home to 1 trillion species.
Indices
After the Convention on Biological Diversity was signed in 1992, biological conservation became a priority for the international community. There are several indicators used that describe trends in global biodiversity. However, there is no single indicator for all extant species as not all have been described and measured over time. There are different ways to measure changes in biodiversity. The Living Planet Index (LPI) is a population-based indicator that combines data from individual populations of many vertebrate species to create a single index. The Global LPI for 2012 decreased by 28%. There are also indices that separate temperate and tropical species for marine and terrestrial species. The Red List Index is based on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and measures changes in conservation status over time and currently includes taxa that have been completely categorized: mammals, birds, amphibians and corals. The Global Wild Bird Index is another indicator that shows trends in population of wild bird groups on a regional scale from data collected in formal surveys. Challenges to these indices due to data availability are taxonomic gaps and the length of time of each index.
The Biodiversity Indicators Partnership was established in 2006 to assist biodiversity indicator development, advancement and to increase the availability of indicators.
Importance of biodiversity
Biodiversity is important for humans through ecosystem services and goods. Ecosystem services are broken down into: regulating services such as air and water purification, provisioning services (goods), such as fuel and food, cultural services and supporting services such as pollination and nutrient cycling.
Biodiversity loss
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Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, depending on whether the environmental degradation that leads to the loss is reversible through ecological restoration/ecological resilience or effectively permanent (e.g. through land loss). The current global extinction (frequently called the sixth mass extinction or Anthropocene extinction), has resulted in a biodiversity crisis being driven by human activities which push beyond the planetary boundaries and so far has proven irreversible.
Even though permanent global species loss is a more dramatic and tragic phenomenon than regional changes in species composition, even minor changes from a healthy stable state can have dramatic influence on the food web and the food chain insofar as reductions in only one species can adversely affect the entire chain (coextinction), leading to an overall reduction in biodiversity, possible alternative stable states of an ecosystem notwithstanding. Ecological effects of biodiversity are usually counteracted by its loss. Reduced biodiversity in particular leads to reduced ecosystem services and eventually poses an immediate danger for food security, but also can have more lasting public health consequences for humans.
International environmental organizations have been campaigning to prevent biodiversity loss for decades, public health officials have integrated it into the One Health approach to public health practice, and increasingly preservation of biodiversity is part of international policy. For example, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is focused on preventing biodiversity loss and proactive conservation of wild areas. The international commitment and goals for this work is currently embodied by Sustainable Development Goal 15 "Life on Land" and Sustainable Development Goal 14 "Life Below Water". However, the United Nations Environment Programme report on "Making Peace with Nature" released in 2020 found that most of these efforts had failed to meet their international goals.
