TY - JOUR
T1 - Inordinate fondness multiplied and redistributed
T2 - The number of species on earth and the new pie of life
AU - Larsen, Brendan B.
AU - Miller, Elizabeth C.
AU - Rhodes, Matthew K.
AU - Wiens, John J.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank D. Walter, H. Proctor, O. Seeman, and P. Stock for useful advice on mites and nematodes. Brendan B. Larsen and Elizabeth C. Miller were supported by Graduate Research Fellowships from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 by The University of Chicago Press. All rights reserved.
PY - 2017/9
Y1 - 2017/9
N2 - The number of species on Earth is one of the most fundamental numbers in science, but one that remains highly uncertain. Clearly, more species exist than the present number of formally described species (approximately 1.5 million), but projected species numbers differ dramatically among studies. Recent estimates range from about 2 million species to approximately 1 trillion, but most project around 11 million species or fewer. Numerous studies have focused on insects as a major component of overall richness, and many have excluded other groups, especially non-eukaryotes. Here, we re-estimate global biodiversity. We also estimate the relative richness of the major clades of living organisms, summarized as a “Pie of Life.” Unlike many previous estimates, we incorporate morphologically cryptic arthropod species from molecular-based species delimitation. We also include numerous groups of organisms that have not been simultaneously included in previous estimates, especially those often associated with particular insect host species (including mites, nematodes, apicomplexan protists, microsporidian fungi, and bacteria). Our estimates suggest that there are likely to be at least 1 to 6 billion species on Earth. Furthermore, in contrast to previous estimates, the new Pie of Life is dominated by bacteria (approximately 70-90% of species) and insects are only one of many hyperdiverse groups.
AB - The number of species on Earth is one of the most fundamental numbers in science, but one that remains highly uncertain. Clearly, more species exist than the present number of formally described species (approximately 1.5 million), but projected species numbers differ dramatically among studies. Recent estimates range from about 2 million species to approximately 1 trillion, but most project around 11 million species or fewer. Numerous studies have focused on insects as a major component of overall richness, and many have excluded other groups, especially non-eukaryotes. Here, we re-estimate global biodiversity. We also estimate the relative richness of the major clades of living organisms, summarized as a “Pie of Life.” Unlike many previous estimates, we incorporate morphologically cryptic arthropod species from molecular-based species delimitation. We also include numerous groups of organisms that have not been simultaneously included in previous estimates, especially those often associated with particular insect host species (including mites, nematodes, apicomplexan protists, microsporidian fungi, and bacteria). Our estimates suggest that there are likely to be at least 1 to 6 billion species on Earth. Furthermore, in contrast to previous estimates, the new Pie of Life is dominated by bacteria (approximately 70-90% of species) and insects are only one of many hyperdiverse groups.
KW - Arthropods
KW - Bacteria
KW - Biodiversity
KW - Cryptic species
KW - Parasites
KW - Species richness
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U2 - 10.1086/693564
DO - 10.1086/693564
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85029590255
VL - 92
SP - 229
EP - 265
JO - Quarterly Review of Biology
JF - Quarterly Review of Biology
SN - 0033-5770
IS - 3
ER -