How many species are there on Earth and in the ocean?
How many species are there on Earth and in the ocean?
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127
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发表时间：
2011-08
期刊：
影响因子：
9.8
通讯作者：
Worm B
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Mora C;Tittensor DP;Adl S;Simpson AG;Worm B
生命的多样性是我们这个星球最引人注目的方面之一;因此，了解地球上有多少物种是科学中最基本的问题之一。然而，这个问题的答案仍然是谜，因为迄今为止对世界生物多样性进行取样的努力有限，因此无法直接量化全球物种丰富度，而且间接估计依赖于已证明极具争议的假设。在这里，我们表明，物种的高级分类（即，将物种划分为门、纲、目、科和属）遵循一种一致的和可预测的模式，由此可以估计一个分类组中的物种总数。这种方法在已知的分类群中得到了验证，当应用于生命的所有领域时，它预测全球有1870万（± 130万SE）真核生物物种，其中1220万（± 18万SE）是海洋生物。尽管有250年的分类学分类和超过120万个物种已经在中央数据库中编目，我们的研究结果表明，地球上约86%的现有物种和海洋中91%的物种仍然等待描述。如果我们对地球上生命的认识要弥合这一重大差距，就需要对进一步的探索和分类重新产生兴趣。了解地球上的物种数量是科学中最基本但又最难以捉摸的问题之一。不幸的是，由于大多数物种仍有待描述，而且间接回答这个问题的尝试一直备受争议，因此获得准确的数量受到限制。在这里，我们的文件，物种的分类学分类到更高的分类组（从属到门）遵循一个一致的模式，在任何分类组的物种总数可以预测。对地球上所有生命王国的这种模式进行评估，预测全球有1870万种（± 130万SE）物种，其中1220万种（± 18万SE）是海洋物种。我们的研究结果表明，地球上约86%的物种和海洋中91%的物种仍在等待描述。要弥补这一知识差距，就需要重新对勘探和分类学产生兴趣，并继续努力将现有的生物多样性数据编入公开数据库。
The diversity of life is one of the most striking aspects of our planet; hence knowing how many species inhabit Earth is among the most fundamental questions in science. Yet the answer to this question remains enigmatic, as efforts to sample the world's biodiversity to date have been limited and thus have precluded direct quantification of global species richness, and because indirect estimates rely on assumptions that have proven highly controversial. Here we show that the higher taxonomic classification of species (i.e., the assignment of species to phylum, class, order, family, and genus) follows a consistent and predictable pattern from which the total number of species in a taxonomic group can be estimated. This approach was validated against well-known taxa, and when applied to all domains of life, it predicts ∼8.7 million (±1.3 million SE) eukaryotic species globally, of which ∼2.2 million (±0.18 million SE) are marine. In spite of 250 years of taxonomic classification and over 1.2 million species already catalogued in a central database, our results suggest that some 86% of existing species on Earth and 91% of species in the ocean still await description. Renewed interest in further exploration and taxonomy is required if this significant gap in our knowledge of life on Earth is to be closed. Knowing the number of species on Earth is one of the most basic yet elusive questions in science. Unfortunately, obtaining an accurate number is constrained by the fact that most species remain to be described and because indirect attempts to answer this question have been highly controversial. Here, we document that the taxonomic classification of species into higher taxonomic groups (from genera to phyla) follows a consistent pattern from which the total number of species in any taxonomic group can be predicted. Assessment of this pattern for all kingdoms of life on Earth predicts ∼8.7 million (±1.3 million SE) species globally, of which ∼2.2 million (±0.18 million SE) are marine. Our results suggest that some 86% of the species on Earth, and 91% in the ocean, still await description. Closing this knowledge gap will require a renewed interest in exploration and taxonomy, and a continuing effort to catalogue existing biodiversity data in publicly available databases.
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影响因子：
56.9
作者：
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通讯作者：
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影响因子：
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DOI：
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发表时间：
2007-07-07
影响因子：
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