forked from enterstudio/wp-static
-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 0
/
Copy pathbiodiversity-and-wildlife.html
573 lines (267 loc) · 83.1 KB
/
biodiversity-and-wildlife.html
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
<!doctype html><html><head><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"/><title>Biodiversity and Wildlife - Our World in Data</title><meta name="description" content="Our planet is home to an incredible diversity of organisms. What does Earth’s biodiversity look like in the big picture?"/><link rel="canonical" href="https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity-and-wildlife"/><link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" href="/atom.xml"/><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/apple-touch-icon.png"/><meta property="fb:app_id" content="1149943818390250"/><meta property="og:url" content="https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity-and-wildlife"/><meta property="og:title" content="Biodiversity and Wildlife"/><meta property="og:description" content="Our planet is home to an incredible diversity of organisms. What does Earth’s biodiversity look like in the big picture?"/><meta property="og:image" content="https://ourworldindata.org/app/uploads/2021/03/Biodiversity-and-Wildlife-thumbnail-768x404.png"/><meta property="og:site_name" content="Our World in Data"/><meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"/><meta name="twitter:site" content="@OurWorldInData"/><meta name="twitter:creator" content="@OurWorldInData"/><meta name="twitter:title" content="Biodiversity and Wildlife"/><meta name="twitter:description" content="Our planet is home to an incredible diversity of organisms. What does Earth’s biodiversity look like in the big picture?"/><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://ourworldindata.org/app/uploads/2021/03/Biodiversity-and-Wildlife-thumbnail-768x404.png"/><link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lato:300,400,400i,700,700i|Playfair+Display:400,700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://ourworldindata.org/assets/commons.css"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://ourworldindata.org/assets/owid.css"/><meta name="citation_title" content="Biodiversity"/><meta name="citation_fulltext_html_url" content="https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity"/><meta name="citation_fulltext_world_readable" content=""/><meta name="citation_publication_date" content="2021/04/15"/><meta name="citation_journal_title" content="Our World in Data"/><meta name="citation_journal_abbrev" content="Our World in Data"/><meta name="citation_author" content="Hannah Ritchie"/><meta name="citation_author" content="Max Roser"/></head><body class=""><header class="site-header"><div class="wrapper site-navigation-bar"><div class="site-logo"><a href="/">Our World<br/> in Data</a></div><nav class="site-navigation"><div class="topics-button-wrapper"><a href="/#entries" class="topics-button"><div class="label">Articles <br/><strong>by topic</strong></div><div class="icon"><svg width="12" height="6"><path d="M0,0 L12,0 L6,6 Z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg></div></a></div><div><div class="site-primary-navigation"><form class="HeaderSearch" action="/search" method="GET"><input type="search" name="q" placeholder="Search..."/><div class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="magnifying-glass" class="svg-inline--fa fa-magnifying-glass " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M500.3 443.7l-119.7-119.7c27.22-40.41 40.65-90.9 33.46-144.7C401.8 87.79 326.8 13.32 235.2 1.723C99.01-15.51-15.51 99.01 1.724 235.2c11.6 91.64 86.08 166.7 177.6 178.9c53.8 7.189 104.3-6.236 144.7-33.46l119.7 119.7c15.62 15.62 40.95 15.62 56.57 0C515.9 484.7 515.9 459.3 500.3 443.7zM79.1 208c0-70.58 57.42-128 128-128s128 57.42 128 128c0 70.58-57.42 128-128 128S79.1 278.6 79.1 208z"></path></svg></div></form><ul class="site-primary-links"><li><a href="/blog" data-track-note="header-navigation">Latest</a></li><li><a href="/about" data-track-note="header-navigation">About</a></li><li><a href="/donate" data-track-note="header-navigation">Donate</a></li></ul></div><div class="site-secondary-navigation"><ul class="site-secondary-links"><li><a href="/charts" data-track-note="header-navigation">All charts</a></li><li><a href="https://sdg-tracker.org" data-track-note="header-navigation">Sustainable Development Goals Tracker</a></li></ul></div></div></nav><div class="header-logos-wrapper"><a href="https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/global-development" class="oxford-logo"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/oms-logo.svg" alt="Oxford Martin School logo"/></a><a href="https://global-change-data-lab.org/" class="gcdl-logo"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/gcdl-logo.svg" alt="Global Change Data Lab logo"/></a></div><div class="mobile-site-navigation"><button data-track-note="mobile-search-button"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="magnifying-glass" class="svg-inline--fa fa-magnifying-glass " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M500.3 443.7l-119.7-119.7c27.22-40.41 40.65-90.9 33.46-144.7C401.8 87.79 326.8 13.32 235.2 1.723C99.01-15.51-15.51 99.01 1.724 235.2c11.6 91.64 86.08 166.7 177.6 178.9c53.8 7.189 104.3-6.236 144.7-33.46l119.7 119.7c15.62 15.62 40.95 15.62 56.57 0C515.9 484.7 515.9 459.3 500.3 443.7zM79.1 208c0-70.58 57.42-128 128-128s128 57.42 128 128c0 70.58-57.42 128-128 128S79.1 278.6 79.1 208z"></path></svg></button><button data-track-note="mobile-newsletter-button"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="envelope-open-text" class="svg-inline--fa fa-envelope-open-text " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M256 417.1c-16.38 0-32.88-4.1-46.88-15.12L0 250.9v213.1C0 490.5 21.5 512 48 512h416c26.5 0 48-21.5 48-47.1V250.9l-209.1 151.1C288.9 412 272.4 417.1 256 417.1zM493.6 163C484.8 156 476.4 149.5 464 140.1v-44.12c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48l-77.5 .0016c-3.125-2.25-5.875-4.25-9.125-6.5C312.6 29.13 279.3-.3732 256 .0018C232.8-.3732 199.4 29.13 182.6 41.5c-3.25 2.25-6 4.25-9.125 6.5L96 48c-26.5 0-48 21.5-48 48v44.12C35.63 149.5 27.25 156 18.38 163C6.75 172 0 186 0 200.8v10.62l96 69.37V96h320v184.7l96-69.37V200.8C512 186 505.3 172 493.6 163zM176 255.1h160c8.836 0 16-7.164 16-15.1c0-8.838-7.164-16-16-16h-160c-8.836 0-16 7.162-16 16C160 248.8 167.2 255.1 176 255.1zM176 191.1h160c8.836 0 16-7.164 16-16c0-8.838-7.164-15.1-16-15.1h-160c-8.836 0-16 7.162-16 15.1C160 184.8 167.2 191.1 176 191.1z"></path></svg></button><button data-track-note="mobile-hamburger-button"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="bars" class="svg-inline--fa fa-bars " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M0 96C0 78.33 14.33 64 32 64H416C433.7 64 448 78.33 448 96C448 113.7 433.7 128 416 128H32C14.33 128 0 113.7 0 96zM0 256C0 238.3 14.33 224 32 224H416C433.7 224 448 238.3 448 256C448 273.7 433.7 288 416 288H32C14.33 288 0 273.7 0 256zM416 448H32C14.33 448 0 433.7 0 416C0 398.3 14.33 384 32 384H416C433.7 384 448 398.3 448 416C448 433.7 433.7 448 416 448z"></path></svg></button></div></div></header><div class="alert-banner"><div class="content"><div class="text"><strong>COVID-19 vaccinations, cases, excess mortality, and much more</strong></div><a href="/coronavirus#explore-the-global-situation" data-track-note="covid-banner-click">Explore our COVID-19 data</a></div></div><main><article class="page with-sidebar large-banner"><div class="offset-header"><header class="article-header"><div class="article-titles"><h1 class="entry-title">Biodiversity and Wildlife</h1><div class="breadcrumb"><a href="/">Home</a><span class="separator"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="angle-right" class="svg-inline--fa fa-angle-right " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 256 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M64 448c-8.188 0-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25L178.8 256L41.38 118.6c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0l160 160c12.5 12.5 12.5 32.75 0 45.25l-160 160C80.38 444.9 72.19 448 64 448z"></path></svg></span><a data-track-note="breadcrumb" href="/biodiversity">Biodiversity</a><span class="separator"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="angle-right" class="svg-inline--fa fa-angle-right " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 256 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M64 448c-8.188 0-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25L178.8 256L41.38 118.6c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0l160 160c12.5 12.5 12.5 32.75 0 45.25l-160 160C80.38 444.9 72.19 448 64 448z"></path></svg></span><span>Biodiversity and Wildlife</span></div></div><div class="authors-byline"><a href="/team">by Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser</a></div><div class="tools"><a href="#licence"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fab" data-icon="creative-commons" class="svg-inline--fa fa-creative-commons " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 496 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M245.8 214.9l-33.22 17.28c-9.43-19.58-25.24-19.93-27.46-19.93-22.13 0-33.22 14.61-33.22 43.84 0 23.57 9.21 43.84 33.22 43.84 14.47 0 24.65-7.09 30.57-21.26l30.55 15.5c-6.17 11.51-25.69 38.98-65.1 38.98-22.6 0-73.96-10.32-73.96-77.05 0-58.69 43-77.06 72.63-77.06 30.72-.01 52.7 11.95 65.99 35.86zm143.1 0l-32.78 17.28c-9.5-19.77-25.72-19.93-27.9-19.93-22.14 0-33.22 14.61-33.22 43.84 0 23.55 9.23 43.84 33.22 43.84 14.45 0 24.65-7.09 30.54-21.26l31 15.5c-2.1 3.75-21.39 38.98-65.09 38.98-22.69 0-73.96-9.87-73.96-77.05 0-58.67 42.97-77.06 72.63-77.06 30.71-.01 52.58 11.95 65.56 35.86zM247.6 8.05C104.7 8.05 0 123.1 0 256c0 138.5 113.6 248 247.6 248 129.9 0 248.4-100.9 248.4-248 0-137.9-106.6-248-248.4-248zm.87 450.8c-112.5 0-203.7-93.04-203.7-202.8 0-105.4 85.43-203.3 203.7-203.3 112.5 0 202.8 89.46 202.8 203.3-.01 121.7-99.68 202.8-202.8 202.8z"></path></svg>Reuse our work freely</a><a href="#citation"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="book" class="svg-inline--fa fa-book " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M448 336v-288C448 21.49 426.5 0 400 0H96C42.98 0 0 42.98 0 96v320c0 53.02 42.98 96 96 96h320c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-31.1c0-11.72-6.607-21.52-16-27.1v-81.36C441.8 362.8 448 350.2 448 336zM143.1 128h192C344.8 128 352 135.2 352 144C352 152.8 344.8 160 336 160H143.1C135.2 160 128 152.8 128 144C128 135.2 135.2 128 143.1 128zM143.1 192h192C344.8 192 352 199.2 352 208C352 216.8 344.8 224 336 224H143.1C135.2 224 128 216.8 128 208C128 199.2 135.2 192 143.1 192zM384 448H96c-17.67 0-32-14.33-32-32c0-17.67 14.33-32 32-32h288V448z"></path></svg>Cite this research</a></div></header></div><div class="offset-subnavigation"><div class="site-subnavigation"><div class="site-subnavigation-scroll"><ul class="site-subnavigation-links"><li class="highlight"><a href="/biodiversity" data-track-note="biodiversity-subnav-biodiversity">Biodiversity<svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="chevron-left" class="svg-inline--fa fa-chevron-left " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 320 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M224 480c-8.188 0-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375l-192-192c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25l192-192c12.5-12.5 32.75-12.5 45.25 0s12.5 32.75 0 45.25L77.25 256l169.4 169.4c12.5 12.5 12.5 32.75 0 45.25C240.4 476.9 232.2 480 224 480z"></path></svg></a></li><li class="current"><a href="/biodiversity-and-wildlife" data-track-note="biodiversity-subnav-biodiversity-and-wildlife">Biodiversity and Wildlife</a></li><li class=""><a href="/mammals" data-track-note="biodiversity-subnav-mammals">Mammals</a></li><li class=""><a href="/birds" data-track-note="biodiversity-subnav-birds">Birds</a></li><li class=""><a href="/fish-and-overfishing" data-track-note="biodiversity-subnav-fish">Fish and Overfishing</a></li><li class=""><a href="/coral-reefs" data-track-note="biodiversity-subnav-coral-reefs">Coral reefs</a></li><li class=""><a href="/living-planet-index" data-track-note="biodiversity-subnav-living-planet-index">Living Planet Index</a></li><li class=""><a href="/extinctions" data-track-note="biodiversity-subnav-extinctions">Extinctions</a></li><li class=""><a href="/threats-to-wildlife" data-track-note="biodiversity-subnav-threats-to-wildlife">Threats to Wildlife</a></li><li class=""><a href="/poaching-and-wildlife-trade" data-track-note="biodiversity-subnav-poaching-and-wildlife-trade">Poaching</a></li><li class=""><a href="/habitat-loss" data-track-note="biodiversity-subnav-habitat-loss">Habitat Loss</a></li><li class=""><a href="/protected-areas-and-conservation" data-track-note="biodiversity-subnav-protected-areas-and-conservation">Protected areas and conservation</a></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="content-wrapper"><div class="toc-wrapper"><aside class="entry-sidebar"><div class="sticky-sentinel"></div><nav class="entry-toc"><ul><li><a href="#" data-track-note="toc-header">Biodiversity and Wildlife</a></li><li class="section"><a href="#summary" data-track-note="toc-link">Summary</a></li><li class="section"><a href="#biodiversity-on-earth-today" data-track-note="toc-link">Biodiversity on Earth today</a></li><li class="subsection"><a href="#humans-make-up-just-0-01-of-earth-s-life-what-s-the-rest" data-track-note="toc-link">Humans make up just 0.01% of Earth’s life – what’s the rest?</a></li><li class="subsection"><a href="#oceans-land-and-deep-subsurface-how-is-life-distributed-across-environments" data-track-note="toc-link">Oceans, land and deep subsurface: how is life distributed across environments?</a></li><li class="subsection"><a href="#how-many-species-are-there" data-track-note="toc-link">How many species are there?</a></li><li class="section"><a href="#biodiversity-across-the-world" data-track-note="toc-link">Biodiversity across the world</a></li><li class="section"><a href="#explore-more-of-our-work-on-biodiversity" data-track-note="toc-link">Explore more of our work on Biodiversity</a></li><li class="section"><a href="#endnotes" data-track-note="toc-link">Endnotes</a></li><li class="section"><a href="#licence" data-track-note="toc-link">Licence</a></li><li class="section"><a href="#citation" data-track-note="toc-link">Citation</a></li></ul></nav><div class="toggle-toc"><button data-track-note="page-toggle-toc" aria-label="Open table of contents"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="bars" class="svg-inline--fa fa-bars " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M0 96C0 78.33 14.33 64 32 64H416C433.7 64 448 78.33 448 96C448 113.7 433.7 128 416 128H32C14.33 128 0 113.7 0 96zM0 256C0 238.3 14.33 224 32 224H416C433.7 224 448 238.3 448 256C448 273.7 433.7 288 416 288H32C14.33 288 0 273.7 0 256zM416 448H32C14.33 448 0 433.7 0 416C0 398.3 14.33 384 32 384H416C433.7 384 448 398.3 448 416C448 433.7 433.7 448 416 448z"></path></svg><span class="label">Contents</span></button></div></aside></div><div class="offset-content"><div class="content-and-footnotes"><div class="article-content"><section><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><div class="wp-block-owid-summary">
<h2 id="summary">Summary<a class="deep-link" href="#summary"></a></h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity-and-wildlife#humans-make-up-just-0-01-of-earth-s-life-what-s-the-rest">Life on earth is dominated by plants – they make up 82% of global biomass.</a></li><li><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity-and-wildlife#humans-make-up-just-0-01-of-earth-s-life-what-s-the-rest">The animal kingdom makes up just 0.4% of global biomass.</a></li><li><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity-and-wildlife#humans-make-up-just-0-01-of-earth-s-life-what-s-the-rest">Humans account for just 0.01% of biomass. However, our livestock outweighs wild mammals and birds ten-fold.</a></li><li><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity-and-wildlife#oceans-land-and-deep-subsurface-how-is-life-distributed-across-environments">86% of life is in terrestrial environments; 13% in the deep subsurface; and just 1% in marine environments.</a></li><li><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity-and-wildlife#how-many-species-are-there">We have identified and described over two million species on Earth.</a></li><li><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity-and-wildlife#how-many-species-are-there">Estimates on the true number of species varies. The most widely-cited estimate is 8.7 million species (but this ranges from around 5 to 10 million).</a></li><li><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity-and-wildlife#biodiversity-across-the-world">The tropics are home to the most diverse and unique ecosystems. They tend to have the most endemic species.</a></li></ul>
</div></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div></section>
<section><div class="section-heading"><div class="wrapper"><div><h2 id="biodiversity-on-earth-today">Biodiversity on Earth today<a class="deep-link" href="#biodiversity-on-earth-today"></a></h2></div><div class="in-this-section"><div class="label">In this section</div><div class="border"></div></div><ul class="subheadings"><li><a href="#humans-make-up-just-0-01-of-earth-s-life-what-s-the-rest"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="arrow-down" class="svg-inline--fa fa-arrow-down " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 384 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M374.6 310.6l-160 160C208.4 476.9 200.2 480 192 480s-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375l-160-160c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0L160 370.8V64c0-17.69 14.33-31.1 31.1-31.1S224 46.31 224 64v306.8l105.4-105.4c12.5-12.5 32.75-12.5 45.25 0S387.1 298.1 374.6 310.6z"></path></svg><span>Humans make up just 0.01% of Earth’s life – what’s the rest?</span></a></li><li><a href="#oceans-land-and-deep-subsurface-how-is-life-distributed-across-environments"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="arrow-down" class="svg-inline--fa fa-arrow-down " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 384 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M374.6 310.6l-160 160C208.4 476.9 200.2 480 192 480s-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375l-160-160c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0L160 370.8V64c0-17.69 14.33-31.1 31.1-31.1S224 46.31 224 64v306.8l105.4-105.4c12.5-12.5 32.75-12.5 45.25 0S387.1 298.1 374.6 310.6z"></path></svg><span>Oceans, land and deep subsurface: how is life distributed across environments?</span></a></li><li><a href="#how-many-species-are-there"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="arrow-down" class="svg-inline--fa fa-arrow-down " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 384 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M374.6 310.6l-160 160C208.4 476.9 200.2 480 192 480s-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375l-160-160c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0L160 370.8V64c0-17.69 14.33-31.1 31.1-31.1S224 46.31 224 64v306.8l105.4-105.4c12.5-12.5 32.75-12.5 45.25 0S387.1 298.1 374.6 310.6z"></path></svg><span>How many species are there?</span></a></li></ul></div></div><h3 id="humans-make-up-just-0-01-of-earth-s-life-what-s-the-rest">Humans make up just 0.01% of Earth’s life – what’s the rest?<a class="deep-link" href="#humans-make-up-just-0-01-of-earth-s-life-what-s-the-rest"></a></h3><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>Our planet is home to an incredible diversity of organisms. What does <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity">Earth’s biodiversity</a> look like in the big picture?</p><p>In this post I provide an overview – with summary graphic – of Earth’s biomass, how it is distributed between taxa (the taxonomic group of organisms), and the environments within which they live. This summary is based on the findings of research by Bar-On, Phillips & Milo published in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)</em>.<a id="ref-1" class="ref" href="#note-1"><sup>1</sup></a></p></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><h4 id="humans-account-for-just-0-01-of-biomass">Humans account for just 0.01% of biomass<a class="deep-link" href="#humans-account-for-just-0-01-of-biomass"></a></h4></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<p>There are several ways we can answer the question of how much life is on Earth. We could, for example, count the number of species, population sizes or the number of individual organisms. But these metrics can make it difficult to compare between taxa: small organisms may have a large population but still account for a very small percentage of Earth’s organic matter.</p>
<p>For a meaningful comparison, Bar-On et al. (2018) quantified life using the metric of biomass. Biomass is measured here in tonnes of carbon as it is a key building-block of life.<a id="ref-2" class="ref" href="#note-2"><sup>2</sup></a></p>
<p>In the graphic below I summarize the distribution of global biomass by taxonomic kingdom (on the left), with a magnified snapshot of the animal kingdom (on the right).</p>
<p>What are the stand-out points?</p>
<ul><li>plants – mainly trees – dominate life on Earth: they account for more than 82% of biomass;</li><li>surprisingly in second place is the life we cannot see: tiny bacteria sum up to 13%;</li><li>whilst our perceptions are often focused on the animal kingdom, it accounts for only 0.4%;</li><li>humans account for just 0.01% of biomass, so we’d need about 70 trillion of us to match Earth’s collective biomass.<a id="ref-3" class="ref" href="#note-3"><sup>3</sup></a></li></ul>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-column"></div>
</div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-left"><div class="wp-block-column"><figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" width="2339" height="1081" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2018/11/Global-Taxa-Biomass.png" alt="Global taxa biomass" class="wp-image-23181" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2018/11/Global-Taxa-Biomass.png 2339w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2018/11/Global-Taxa-Biomass-400x185.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2018/11/Global-Taxa-Biomass-800x370.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2018/11/Global-Taxa-Biomass-150x69.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2018/11/Global-Taxa-Biomass-768x355.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2018/11/Global-Taxa-Biomass-1536x710.png 1536w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2018/11/Global-Taxa-Biomass-2048x947.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2339px) 100vw, 2339px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2018/11/Global-Taxa-Biomass.png"></figure></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><h4 id="livestock-outweighs-wild-mammals-and-birds-ten-fold">Livestock outweighs wild mammals and birds ten-fold<a class="deep-link" href="#livestock-outweighs-wild-mammals-and-birds-ten-fold"></a></h4></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>Humans comprise a very small share of life on Earth — 0.01% of the total, and 2.5% of animal biomass [animal biomass is shown in the right-hand box on the visualization above].</p><p>But we are also responsible for the <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/meat-and-seafood-production-consumption#livestock-counts" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">animals we raise</a>. Humans alone may seem insignificant, but our hunger for <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/meat-and-seafood-production-consumption#livestock-counts" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">raising livestock</a> means we have played a major role in shifting the balance of animal life: <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/meat-and-seafood-production-consumption" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">livestock</a> account for 4% of animal biomass.<a id="ref-4" class="ref" href="#note-4"><sup>4</sup></a></p><p>Livestock accounts for more biomass than all humans on Earth; more than 50% greater than humans.</p><p>And livestock accounts for much more than all wildlife: Wild mammals and birds collectively account for only 0.38% — livestock therefore outweighs wild mammals and birds by a factor of ten.<a id="ref-5" class="ref" href="#note-5"><sup>5</sup></a></p></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><h3 id="oceans-land-and-deep-subsurface-how-is-life-distributed-across-environments">Oceans, land and deep subsurface: how is life distributed across environments?<a class="deep-link" href="#oceans-land-and-deep-subsurface-how-is-life-distributed-across-environments"></a></h3><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>The visualization here provides a snapshot of how life spans across the planet’s environments. This summary is based on the findings of research by Bar-On, Phillips & Milo published in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)</em>.<a id="ref-6" class="ref" href="#note-6"><sup>6</sup></a></p><p>There are three high-level habitat environments: land, marine, and deep subsurface environments. Deep subsurface environments can be terrestrial or below the ocean floor, but represent habitats deep below the surface – extending from around 50 metres to thousands of metres below the surface.<a id="ref-7" class="ref" href="#note-7"><sup>7</sup></a></p><p>Most of life exists on land — 86% of biomass. This is because almost all plant life – mostly trees – is terrestrial. The authors estimate that marine plants, for example seaweed, make up less than 1 billion tonnes of carbon. This is less than 0.2% of total plant biomass.<a id="ref-8" class="ref" href="#note-8"><sup>8</sup></a> Most bacteria and archaea exists in the deep subsurface, meaning 13 percent of global biomass thrives in this environment.</p><p>Despite dominating our planet in terms of area and volume – taking up <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/yields-and-land-use-in-agriculture#breakdown-of-global-land-area-today" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than 70% of global surface area</a> – the oceans are home to just 1% of biomass. But they do dominate the animal kingdom: 78% of animal biomass lives in the marine environment.</p><p>With lifeforms ranging in size from the microscopic cellular level to large lifeforms that span tens of hectares,<a id="ref-9" class="ref" href="#note-9"><sup>9</sup></a> it is impossible to contextualize life on Earth through experience or intuition alone. </p><p>Just look at the viruses that live in the sea: while each one of them is tiny, if we placed all the viruses end-to-end they would stretch for 10 million light years. That is around 100 times the distance across our own galaxy.<a id="ref-10" class="ref" href="#note-10"><sup>10</sup></a> On land the scale is just as mindblowing: there are more than 10<sup>16</sup> prokaryotes in a ton of Earth’s soil – orders of magnitude more than the ‘mere’ 10<sup>11</sup> stars in our galaxy.<a id="ref-11" class="ref" href="#note-11"><sup>11</sup></a><br><br>Looking at the big numbers allows us to understand our planet and our place in it.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"><div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" width="1835" height="1121" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2019/04/Biomass-by-environment.png" alt="Biomass by environment" class="wp-image-23171" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2019/04/Biomass-by-environment.png 1835w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2019/04/Biomass-by-environment-400x244.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2019/04/Biomass-by-environment-800x489.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2019/04/Biomass-by-environment-150x92.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2019/04/Biomass-by-environment-768x469.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2019/04/Biomass-by-environment-1536x938.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1835px) 100vw, 1835px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2019/04/Biomass-by-environment.png"></figure></div></div></div><h3 id="how-many-species-are-there">How many species are there?<a class="deep-link" href="#how-many-species-are-there"></a></h3><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><h4 id="how-many-species-have-we-described">How many species have we <em>described</em>?<a class="deep-link" href="#how-many-species-have-we-described"></a></h4></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<p>Before we look at estimates of how many species there are in total, we should also ask the question of how many species we <em>know that we know. </em>Species that we have identified and named. This is only a fraction of the actual number of species on Earth because there are so many that we haven’t yet found or studied. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/summary-statistics">IUCN Red List</a> tracks the number of described species and updates this figure annually based on the latest work of taxonomists. In 2021 it listed 2.13 million species on the planet. In the chart we see the breakdown across a range of taxonomic groups – 1.05 million insects; over 11,000 birds; over 11,000 reptiles; and over 6,000 mammals.</p>
<p>These figures – particularly for lesser-known groups such as plants or fungi – might be a bit too high. This is because some described species end up being synonyms – the description of already-known species, simply given a separate name.<a id="ref-12" class="ref" href="#note-12"><sup>12</sup></a> There is a continual evaluation process to remove synonyms (and most are removed eventually), but often species are added at a faster rate than synonyms can be found and removed.<a id="ref-13" class="ref" href="#note-13"><sup>13</sup></a> To give a sense of how large this effect might be, in a study published in <em>Science</em>, Costello et al. (2013) estimated that around 20% of the described species were undiscovered synonyms (in other words, duplicates).<a id="ref-14" class="ref" href="#note-14"><sup>14</sup></a> They estimated that the 1.9 million described species at the time was actually closer to 1.5 million unique species.</p>
<p>If we were to assume this “20% synonym” figure held true, our 2.12 million described species might actually be closer to 1.7 million.</p>
<p>Regardless, we know that any of these figures are an underestimate of the actual number of species. The fact that there are so many species that we’ve yet to discover has real consequences for our ability to understand changes in global biodiversity and the rate of species extinctions. If we don’t know that certain species exist, we also don’t know that they might have, or will soon, go extinct. Some species will inevitably go extinct before we realise that they existed.</p>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure data-grapher-src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-described-species?country=Fishes~Insects~Reptiles~Mammals~Birds~Amphibians~Corals~Molluscs~Crustaceans~Arachnids~All+groups~Fungi+and+Protists" class="grapherPreview">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-described-species?country=Fishes~Insects~Reptiles~Mammals~Birds~Amphibians~Corals~Molluscs~Crustaceans~Arachnids~All+groups~Fungi+and+Protists" target="_blank">
<div><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/exports/number-of-described-species-0102eb68946abdd099108d82f3c998b9_v7_850x600.svg" width="850" height="600" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="" alt="Number of described species 0102eb68946abdd099108d82f3c998b9 v7 850x600"></div>
<div class="interactionNotice">
<span class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="hand-pointer" class="svg-inline--fa fa-hand-pointer fa-w-14" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 617">
<path fill="currentColor" d="M448,344.59v96a40.36,40.36,0,0,1-1.06,9.16l-32,136A40,40,0,0,1,376,616.59H168a40,40,0,0,1-32.35-16.47l-128-176a40,40,0,0,1,64.7-47.06L104,420.58v-276a40,40,0,0,1,80,0v200h8v-40a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v40h8v-24a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v24h8a40,40,0,1,1,80,0Zm-256,80h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
<path fill="currentColor" opacity="0.6" d="M239.76,234.78A27.5,27.5,0,0,1,217,192a87.76,87.76,0,1,0-145.9,0A27.5,27.5,0,1,1,25.37,222.6,142.17,142.17,0,0,1,1.24,143.17C1.24,64.45,65.28.41,144,.41s142.76,64,142.76,142.76a142.17,142.17,0,0,1-24.13,79.43A27.47,27.47,0,0,1,239.76,234.78Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
</svg></span>
<span class="label">Click to open interactive version</span>
</div>
</a>
</figure>
</div>
</div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><h4 id="how-many-species-are-there-really">How many species are there really?<a class="deep-link" href="#how-many-species-are-there-really"></a></h4></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<p>How many species do we share our planet with? It’s such a basic and fundamental question to understanding the world around us. It’s almost unthinkable that we would not know, or at least have a good estimate, what this number is. But the truth is that it’s a question that continues to escape the world’s taxonomists. </p>
<p>As Robert May summarised in a paper published in <em>Science</em><a id="ref-15" class="ref" href="#note-15"><sup>15</sup></a>:</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>If some alien version of the Starship Enterprise visited Earth, what might be the visitors’ first question? I think it would be: “How many distinct life forms—species—does your planet have?” Embarrassingly, our best-guess answer would be in the range of 5 to 10 million eukaryotes (never mind the viruses and bacteria), but we could defend numbers exceeding 100 million, or as low as 3 million.</p></blockquote>
<p>Over decades, researchers have made a number of wide-ranging estimates. As May points out, this ranges anywhere from 3 to 100 million – two orders of magnitude of difference. Most modern estimates fall within a tighter range. </p>
<p><strong>One of the most widely-cited figures comes from Camila Mora and colleagues; they estimated that there were around 8.7 million species on Earth today.</strong><a id="ref-16" class="ref" href="#note-16"><sup>16</sup></a> Mora et al. put an uncertainty of 1.3 million species around this figure. The breakdown of how many of these species are animals; fungi; plants; and other groups is shown in the table. This also shows the split between marine and terrestrial environments. It’s estimated that 2.2 million of these species lived in the ocean.</p>
<p>There are also a range of other estimates: Costello et al. (2013) estimate 5 <strong>±</strong> 3 million species; Chapman (2009) estimates 11 million; and after reviewing the range in the literature, Scheffers et al. (2012) choose not to give a concrete figure at all.<a id="ref-17" class="ref" href="#note-17"><sup>17</sup></a> There is typically strong agreement on the most well-studied taxonomic groups such as mammals, birds, and reptiles. Where most of the disagreement lies is in insects, fungi, and other smaller microbial species. Reaching consensus on such small and inaccessible lifeforms is undoubtedly hard.</p>
<p>How can we even begin to make these estimates? There are several approaches that researchers take. </p>
<p>Mora et al. (2011) – whose estimates are shown in the table – used the fact that there are predictable relationships in higher taxonomic classifications of life, that could be extrapolated to the species level. Life can be classified at multiple levels: each belongs to a kingdom (e.g. the “Animalia” kingdom – this sorts life into animals, plants, fungi etc.); then a phyla (e.g. “Mollusca” or “Arthropoda” in the animal kingdom); then class; order; family; genus; and finally the species level. We know much more about the higher taxonomic classifications (kingdoms, phylum; classes) than we do about the specific species-level breakdowns. But, we find that for groups of species that <em>have</em> been well-studied, we find predictable patterns between the higher taxonomic classifications, and estimates at the species-level. Researchers can use these predictable patterns for well-known species and apply them to lesser-known groups.</p>
<p>The honest answer to the question, “how many species are there?” is that we don’t really know. Some estimates span several orders of magnitude, from a few to 100 million. But most recent estimates lie somewhere in the range of around 5 to 10 million.</p>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure class="wp-block-table"><div class="tableContainer"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Kingdom</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right"><strong>Number of species <em>(Ocean)</em></strong></td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right"><strong>Number of species <em>(Terrestrial)</em></strong></td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right"><strong>Number of species <em>(Total)</em></strong></td></tr><tr><td>Animals</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">2,150,000</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">5,620,000</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">7,770,000</td></tr><tr><td>Chromists</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">7400</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">20,100</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">27,500</td></tr><tr><td>Fungi</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">5320</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">605,680</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">611,000</td></tr><tr><td>Plants</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">16,600</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">281,400</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">298,000</td></tr><tr><td>Protozoa</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">36,400</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">0</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">36,400</td></tr><tr><td>Archaea</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">1</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">454</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">455</td></tr><tr><td>Bacteria</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">1320</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">8360</td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right">9680</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Total species</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right"><strong>2,210,000</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right"><strong>6,540,000</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-right" data-align="right"><strong>8,750,000</strong></td></tr></tbody></table></div><figcaption>Estimated number of species on Earth from Mora et al. (2011)<a id="ref-18" class="ref" href="#note-18"><sup>18</sup></a></figcaption></figure>
</div>
</div></section>
<section><div class="section-heading"><div class="wrapper"><div><h2 id="biodiversity-across-the-world">Biodiversity across the world<a class="deep-link" href="#biodiversity-across-the-world"></a></h2></div></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>The world is home to millions of species, each adapted to different environments: tropical, temperate, polar; terrestrial; freshwater or marine; high or low altitude; dry; wet or a mixture of both. Most places on Earth are home to at least some unique species, but the density of biodiversity varies a lot across the world’s continents.</p><p>The following maps show the density of <em>endemic</em> species by country across a range of taxonomic groups. Endemic species are those that naturally occur in only one geographical locations. In other words, they are unique to that place. </p><p>What we see is that the tropics is incredibly dense in unique wildlife. In almost every map we see a bright belt along the equator – this is true of mammals, birds, coral reefs, amphibians and a range of fish species. It’s estimated that tropical forests alone are home to more than half of the planet’s species.<a id="ref-19" class="ref" href="#note-19"><sup>19</sup></a> This is important because, unfortunately, this also where the greatest <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/threats-to-biodiversity">threats to wildlife</a> exist today. It’s where <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation-and-forest-loss">95% of deforestation occurs</a>, and where the most mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles are <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/poaching-and-wildlife-trade" data-type="URL">hunted and poached</a>. If we want to protect these species we need to first understand where they live; what the pressures are; and what we can do about it.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure data-grapher-src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/endemic-mammal-species-by-country" class="grapherPreview">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/endemic-mammal-species-by-country" target="_blank">
<div><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/exports/endemic-mammal-species-by-country_v7_850x600.svg" width="850" height="600" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="" alt="Endemic mammal species by country v7 850x600"></div>
<div class="interactionNotice">
<span class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="hand-pointer" class="svg-inline--fa fa-hand-pointer fa-w-14" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 617">
<path fill="currentColor" d="M448,344.59v96a40.36,40.36,0,0,1-1.06,9.16l-32,136A40,40,0,0,1,376,616.59H168a40,40,0,0,1-32.35-16.47l-128-176a40,40,0,0,1,64.7-47.06L104,420.58v-276a40,40,0,0,1,80,0v200h8v-40a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v40h8v-24a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v24h8a40,40,0,1,1,80,0Zm-256,80h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
<path fill="currentColor" opacity="0.6" d="M239.76,234.78A27.5,27.5,0,0,1,217,192a87.76,87.76,0,1,0-145.9,0A27.5,27.5,0,1,1,25.37,222.6,142.17,142.17,0,0,1,1.24,143.17C1.24,64.45,65.28.41,144,.41s142.76,64,142.76,142.76a142.17,142.17,0,0,1-24.13,79.43A27.47,27.47,0,0,1,239.76,234.78Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
</svg></span>
<span class="label">Click to open interactive version</span>
</div>
</a>
</figure>
<h5>Explore more of our work on mammals</h5>
<div class="block-wrapper"><div class="wp-block-owid-prominent-link with-image" data-no-lightbox="true" data-style="is-style-thin" data-title="Mammals"><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/mammals"><figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Mammals thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail.png"></figure><div class="content-wrapper"><div class="title"><span>Mammals</span><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="arrow-right" class="svg-inline--fa fa-arrow-right " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M438.6 278.6l-160 160C272.4 444.9 264.2 448 256 448s-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25L338.8 288H32C14.33 288 .0016 273.7 .0016 256S14.33 224 32 224h306.8l-105.4-105.4c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0l160 160C451.1 245.9 451.1 266.1 438.6 278.6z"></path></svg></div></div></a></div></div></div>
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure data-grapher-src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/endemic-bird-species-by-country" class="grapherPreview">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/endemic-bird-species-by-country" target="_blank">
<div><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/exports/endemic-bird-species-by-country_v6_850x600.svg" width="850" height="600" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="" alt="Endemic bird species by country v6 850x600"></div>
<div class="interactionNotice">
<span class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="hand-pointer" class="svg-inline--fa fa-hand-pointer fa-w-14" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 617">
<path fill="currentColor" d="M448,344.59v96a40.36,40.36,0,0,1-1.06,9.16l-32,136A40,40,0,0,1,376,616.59H168a40,40,0,0,1-32.35-16.47l-128-176a40,40,0,0,1,64.7-47.06L104,420.58v-276a40,40,0,0,1,80,0v200h8v-40a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v40h8v-24a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v24h8a40,40,0,1,1,80,0Zm-256,80h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
<path fill="currentColor" opacity="0.6" d="M239.76,234.78A27.5,27.5,0,0,1,217,192a87.76,87.76,0,1,0-145.9,0A27.5,27.5,0,1,1,25.37,222.6,142.17,142.17,0,0,1,1.24,143.17C1.24,64.45,65.28.41,144,.41s142.76,64,142.76,142.76a142.17,142.17,0,0,1-24.13,79.43A27.47,27.47,0,0,1,239.76,234.78Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
</svg></span>
<span class="label">Click to open interactive version</span>
</div>
</a>
</figure>
<h5>Explore more of our work on birds</h5>
<div class="block-wrapper"><div class="wp-block-owid-prominent-link with-image" data-no-lightbox="true" data-style="is-style-thin" data-title="Birds"><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/birds"><figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Birds thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail.png"></figure><div class="content-wrapper"><div class="title"><span>Birds</span><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="arrow-right" class="svg-inline--fa fa-arrow-right " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M438.6 278.6l-160 160C272.4 444.9 264.2 448 256 448s-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25L338.8 288H32C14.33 288 .0016 273.7 .0016 256S14.33 224 32 224h306.8l-105.4-105.4c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0l160 160C451.1 245.9 451.1 266.1 438.6 278.6z"></path></svg></div></div></a></div></div></div>
</div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure data-grapher-src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/endemic-amphibian-species-by-country" class="grapherPreview">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/endemic-amphibian-species-by-country" target="_blank">
<div><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/exports/endemic-amphibian-species-by-country_v6_850x600.svg" width="850" height="600" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="" alt="Endemic amphibian species by country v6 850x600"></div>
<div class="interactionNotice">
<span class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="hand-pointer" class="svg-inline--fa fa-hand-pointer fa-w-14" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 617">
<path fill="currentColor" d="M448,344.59v96a40.36,40.36,0,0,1-1.06,9.16l-32,136A40,40,0,0,1,376,616.59H168a40,40,0,0,1-32.35-16.47l-128-176a40,40,0,0,1,64.7-47.06L104,420.58v-276a40,40,0,0,1,80,0v200h8v-40a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v40h8v-24a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v24h8a40,40,0,1,1,80,0Zm-256,80h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
<path fill="currentColor" opacity="0.6" d="M239.76,234.78A27.5,27.5,0,0,1,217,192a87.76,87.76,0,1,0-145.9,0A27.5,27.5,0,1,1,25.37,222.6,142.17,142.17,0,0,1,1.24,143.17C1.24,64.45,65.28.41,144,.41s142.76,64,142.76,142.76a142.17,142.17,0,0,1-24.13,79.43A27.47,27.47,0,0,1,239.76,234.78Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
</svg></span>
<span class="label">Click to open interactive version</span>
</div>
</a>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure data-grapher-src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/endemic-reef-forming-coral-species" class="grapherPreview">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/endemic-reef-forming-coral-species" target="_blank">
<div><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/exports/endemic-reef-forming-coral-species_v8_850x600.svg" width="850" height="600" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="" alt="Endemic reef forming coral species v8 850x600"></div>
<div class="interactionNotice">
<span class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="hand-pointer" class="svg-inline--fa fa-hand-pointer fa-w-14" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 617">
<path fill="currentColor" d="M448,344.59v96a40.36,40.36,0,0,1-1.06,9.16l-32,136A40,40,0,0,1,376,616.59H168a40,40,0,0,1-32.35-16.47l-128-176a40,40,0,0,1,64.7-47.06L104,420.58v-276a40,40,0,0,1,80,0v200h8v-40a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v40h8v-24a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v24h8a40,40,0,1,1,80,0Zm-256,80h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
<path fill="currentColor" opacity="0.6" d="M239.76,234.78A27.5,27.5,0,0,1,217,192a87.76,87.76,0,1,0-145.9,0A27.5,27.5,0,1,1,25.37,222.6,142.17,142.17,0,0,1,1.24,143.17C1.24,64.45,65.28.41,144,.41s142.76,64,142.76,142.76a142.17,142.17,0,0,1-24.13,79.43A27.47,27.47,0,0,1,239.76,234.78Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
</svg></span>
<span class="label">Click to open interactive version</span>
</div>
</a>
</figure>
</div>
</div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure data-grapher-src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/endemic-freshwater-crab-species" class="grapherPreview">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/endemic-freshwater-crab-species" target="_blank">
<div><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/exports/endemic-freshwater-crab-species_v3_850x600.svg" width="850" height="600" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="" alt="Endemic freshwater crab species v3 850x600"></div>
<div class="interactionNotice">
<span class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="hand-pointer" class="svg-inline--fa fa-hand-pointer fa-w-14" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 617">
<path fill="currentColor" d="M448,344.59v96a40.36,40.36,0,0,1-1.06,9.16l-32,136A40,40,0,0,1,376,616.59H168a40,40,0,0,1-32.35-16.47l-128-176a40,40,0,0,1,64.7-47.06L104,420.58v-276a40,40,0,0,1,80,0v200h8v-40a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v40h8v-24a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v24h8a40,40,0,1,1,80,0Zm-256,80h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
<path fill="currentColor" opacity="0.6" d="M239.76,234.78A27.5,27.5,0,0,1,217,192a87.76,87.76,0,1,0-145.9,0A27.5,27.5,0,1,1,25.37,222.6,142.17,142.17,0,0,1,1.24,143.17C1.24,64.45,65.28.41,144,.41s142.76,64,142.76,142.76a142.17,142.17,0,0,1-24.13,79.43A27.47,27.47,0,0,1,239.76,234.78Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
</svg></span>
<span class="label">Click to open interactive version</span>
</div>
</a>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure data-grapher-src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/endemic-shark-and-ray-species" class="grapherPreview">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/endemic-shark-and-ray-species" target="_blank">
<div><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/exports/endemic-shark-and-ray-species_v4_850x600.svg" width="850" height="600" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="" alt="Endemic shark and ray species v4 850x600"></div>
<div class="interactionNotice">
<span class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="hand-pointer" class="svg-inline--fa fa-hand-pointer fa-w-14" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 617">
<path fill="currentColor" d="M448,344.59v96a40.36,40.36,0,0,1-1.06,9.16l-32,136A40,40,0,0,1,376,616.59H168a40,40,0,0,1-32.35-16.47l-128-176a40,40,0,0,1,64.7-47.06L104,420.58v-276a40,40,0,0,1,80,0v200h8v-40a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v40h8v-24a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v24h8a40,40,0,1,1,80,0Zm-256,80h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
<path fill="currentColor" opacity="0.6" d="M239.76,234.78A27.5,27.5,0,0,1,217,192a87.76,87.76,0,1,0-145.9,0A27.5,27.5,0,1,1,25.37,222.6,142.17,142.17,0,0,1,1.24,143.17C1.24,64.45,65.28.41,144,.41s142.76,64,142.76,142.76a142.17,142.17,0,0,1-24.13,79.43A27.47,27.47,0,0,1,239.76,234.78Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
</svg></span>
<span class="label">Click to open interactive version</span>
</div>
</a>
</figure>
<h5>Explore more of our work on fish</h5>
<div class="block-wrapper"><div class="wp-block-owid-prominent-link with-image" data-no-lightbox="true" data-style="is-style-thin" data-title="Fish"><a href="/fish-and-overfishing"><figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Fish-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Fish thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Fish-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Fish-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Fish-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Fish-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Fish-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Fish-thumbnail.png"></figure><div class="content-wrapper"><div class="title"><span>Fish</span><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="arrow-right" class="svg-inline--fa fa-arrow-right " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M438.6 278.6l-160 160C272.4 444.9 264.2 448 256 448s-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25L338.8 288H32C14.33 288 .0016 273.7 .0016 256S14.33 224 32 224h306.8l-105.4-105.4c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0l160 160C451.1 245.9 451.1 266.1 438.6 278.6z"></path></svg></div></div></a></div></div>
</div>
</div></section>
<section><div class="section-heading"><div class="wrapper"><div><h2 id="explore-more-of-our-work-on-biodiversity">Explore more of our work on <em>Biodiversity</em><a class="deep-link" href="#explore-more-of-our-work-on-biodiversity"></a></h2></div></div></div><div class="wp-block-owid-grid">
<div class="wp-block-owid-card with-image" data-no-lightbox="">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity-and-wildlife">
<figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Biodiversity-and-Wildlife-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Biodiversity and wildlife thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Biodiversity-and-Wildlife-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Biodiversity-and-Wildlife-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Biodiversity-and-Wildlife-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Biodiversity-and-Wildlife-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Biodiversity-and-Wildlife-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Biodiversity-and-Wildlife-thumbnail.png"></figure>
<div class="text-wrapper">
<div class="description">
<p>Explore the diversity of wildlife across the planet – how many species are in each group, and where they live.</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-owid-card with-image" data-no-lightbox="">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/mammals">
<figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Mammals thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Mammals-thumbnail.png"></figure>
<div class="text-wrapper">
<div class="description">
<p>See how wild mammal populations have changed over time; where they live today; and where they are threatened with extinction.</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-owid-card with-image" data-no-lightbox="">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/birds">
<figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Birds thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Birds-thumbnail.png"></figure>
<div class="text-wrapper">
<div class="description">
<p>Explore the diversity of birds across the world; how many species have gone extinct; and how populations are changing.</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-owid-card with-image" data-no-lightbox="">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/fish">
<figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/10/Fish-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Fish thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/10/Fish-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/10/Fish-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/10/Fish-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/10/Fish-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/10/Fish-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/10/Fish-thumbnail.png"></figure>
<div class="text-wrapper">
<div class="description">
<p>See data on wild fish stocks; threatened species and how seafood production is changing.</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-owid-card with-image" data-no-lightbox="">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/coral-reefs">
<figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/05/coral-reefs-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Coral reefs thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/05/coral-reefs-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/05/coral-reefs-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/05/coral-reefs-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/05/coral-reefs-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/05/coral-reefs-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/05/coral-reefs-thumbnail.png"></figure>
<div class="text-wrapper">
<div class="description">
<p>Explore the distribution of coral reefs across the world and how they are changing from human pressures.</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-owid-card with-image" data-no-lightbox="">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/living-planet-index">
<figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Living-Planet-Index-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Living planet index thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Living-Planet-Index-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Living-Planet-Index-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Living-Planet-Index-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Living-Planet-Index-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Living-Planet-Index-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Living-Planet-Index-thumbnail.png"></figure>
<div class="text-wrapper">
<div class="description">
<p>The Living Planet Index is one of the most-common biodiversity metrics. What does it tell us about the world’s wildlife?</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-owid-card with-image" data-no-lightbox="">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/extinctions">
<figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Extinctions-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Extinctions thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Extinctions-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Extinctions-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Extinctions-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Extinctions-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Extinctions-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Extinctions-thumbnail.png"></figure>
<div class="text-wrapper">
<div class="description">
<p>Explore the long-term history of Earth’s extinctions, and where we are today.</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-owid-card with-image" data-no-lightbox="">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/threats-to-wildlife">
<figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Threats-to-Wildlife-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Threats to wildlife thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Threats-to-Wildlife-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Threats-to-Wildlife-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Threats-to-Wildlife-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Threats-to-Wildlife-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Threats-to-Wildlife-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Threats-to-Wildlife-thumbnail.png"></figure>
<div class="text-wrapper">
<div class="description">
<p>Explore the latest data and research on the biggest threats to global wildlife.</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-owid-card with-image" data-no-lightbox="">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/poaching-and-wildlife-trade">
<figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Poaching-and-Wildlife-Trade-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Poaching and wildlife trade thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Poaching-and-Wildlife-Trade-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Poaching-and-Wildlife-Trade-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Poaching-and-Wildlife-Trade-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Poaching-and-Wildlife-Trade-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Poaching-and-Wildlife-Trade-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Poaching-and-Wildlife-Trade-thumbnail.png"></figure>
<div class="text-wrapper">
<div class="description">
<p>Hunting is one of the largest threats to wildlife. See how poaching rates and trade has changed over time, and across species.</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-owid-card with-image" data-no-lightbox="">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/habitat-loss">
<figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Habitat-Loss-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Habitat loss thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Habitat-Loss-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Habitat-Loss-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Habitat-Loss-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Habitat-Loss-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Habitat-Loss-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Habitat-Loss-thumbnail.png"></figure>
<div class="text-wrapper">
<div class="description">
<p>See how human expansion and habitat loss has changed landscapes over millennia, and how this has impacted global biodiversity.</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<div class="wp-block-owid-card with-image" data-no-lightbox="">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/protected-areas-and-conservation">
<figure><img width="768" height="404" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Protected-Areas-Conservation-thumbnail-768x404.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large" alt="Protected areas conservation thumbnail" loading="lazy" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Protected-Areas-Conservation-thumbnail-768x404.png 768w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Protected-Areas-Conservation-thumbnail-400x210.png 400w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Protected-Areas-Conservation-thumbnail-800x421.png 800w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Protected-Areas-Conservation-thumbnail-150x79.png 150w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Protected-Areas-Conservation-thumbnail.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2021/03/Protected-Areas-Conservation-thumbnail.png"></figure>
<div class="text-wrapper">
<div class="description">
<p>See how protected areas and conservation efforts are changing over time, and their impacts on protecting the world’s wildlife.</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
</div></section>
</div><footer class="article-footer"><div class="wp-block-columns"><div class="wp-block-column"><h3 id="endnotes">Endnotes</h3><ol class="endnotes"><li id="note-1"><p>Bar-On, Y. M., Phillips, R., & Milo, R. (2018). The biomass distribution on Earth. <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</i>, 201711842. Available at: <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/115/25/6506">http://www.pnas.org/content/115/25/6506</a>.</p></li><li id="note-2"><p>To calculate the biomass of a taxonomic group, the researchers multiplied the carbon stock for a single organism by the number of individuals in that group. In humans, for example, they calculate the average carbon quantity of a person and multiply by the human population. If you’re interested in the comparison between biomass and the abundance of different taxonomic groups, you can explore this <strong><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/biomass-vs-abundance-taxa" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a></strong>.</p></li><li id="note-3"><p>We can calculate our share of total biomass as: 0.06 billion tonnes C (human biomass) / 546 billion tonnes (total biomass) * 100 = 0.01%.</p></li><li id="note-4"><p>Figures for livestock don’t include fish catch or farming — of course, these also <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/fish-stocks-within-sustainable-levels">had significant impacts on marine life</a>.</p></li><li id="note-5"><p>Poultry livestock on its own accounts for 0.2 percent of animal biomass — more than twice that of wild birds. Bar-On et al. (2018) estimate global poultry biomass to be 0.005 billion tonnes of carbon. This is approximately 0.2 percent of animal biomass (= 0.005 / 2.4 * 100). Wild birds account for only 0.08 percent of animal biomass.</p></li><li id="note-6"><p>Bar-On, Y. M., Phillips, R., & Milo, R. (2018). The biomass distribution on Earth. <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</i>, 201711842. Available at: <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/115/25/6506">http://www.pnas.org/content/115/25/6506</a>.</p></li><li id="note-7"><p>Parnell, J., & McMahon, S. (2016). <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsta.2014.0293">Physical and chemical controls on habitats for life in the deep subsurface beneath continents and ice</a>. <i>Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences</i>, <i>374</i>(2059), 20140293.</p></li><li id="note-8"><p>Total plant biomass is 450 billion tonnes of carbon, so in a maximum case: (1 billion tonnes / 450 billion tonnes) * 100 = 0.02 percent.</p></li><li id="note-9"><p>Pando (a tree), also known as the ‘Trembling Giant’ <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://pandopopulus.com/about/pando-the-tree/" target="_blank">is a colony of aspen</a> in Utah and named the world’s largest organism. It is determined to be a single living organism based on identical genetic markers and a single underground root system.</p></li><li id="note-10"><p>Suttle, C. A. (2005). <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature04160">Viruses in the sea</a>. <em>Nature</em>, <em>437</em>(7057), 356-361.</p></li><li id="note-11"><p>Curtis, T. P., & Sloan, W. T. (2005). <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/309/5739/1331">Exploring microbial diversity–A vast below</a>. <em>Science</em>, <em>309</em>(5739), 1331-1333.</p></li><li id="note-12"><p>Costello, M. J., May, R. M., & Stork, N. E. (2013). <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/339/6118/413">Can we name Earth’s species before they go extinct?</a>. <em>Science</em>, <em>339</em>(6118), 413-416.</p></li><li id="note-13"><p>Solow, A. R., Mound, L. A., & Gaston, K. J. (1995). <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2413485">Estimating the rate of synonymy</a>. <em>Systematic Biology</em>, <em>44</em>(1), 93-96.</p></li><li id="note-14"><p>Costello, M. J., May, R. M., & Stork, N. E. (2013). <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/339/6118/413">Can we name Earth’s species before they go extinct?</a>. <em>Science</em>, <em>339</em>(6118), 413-416.</p></li><li id="note-15"><p>May, R. M. (2010). <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/329/5987/41.summary">Tropical arthropod species, more or less?</a>. <em>Science</em>, <em>329</em>(5987), 41-42.</p></li><li id="note-16"><p>Mora, C., Tittensor, D. P., Adl, S., Simpson, A. G., & Worm, B. (2011). <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127">How many species are there on Earth and in the ocean?</a>. <em>PLoS Biol</em>, <em>9</em>(8), e1001127.</p></li><li id="note-17"><p>Costello, M. J., May, R. M., & Stork, N. E. (2013). <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/339/6118/413">Can we name Earth’s species before they go extinct?</a>. <em>Science</em>, <em>339</em>(6118), 413-416.</p>
<p>A. D. Chapman, <em>Numbers of Living Species in Australia and the World</em> (Biodiversity Information Services, Toowoomba, Australia, 2009).</p>
<p>Scheffers, B. R., Joppa, L. N., Pimm, S. L., & Laurance, W. F. (2012). <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534712001231">What we know and don’t know about Earth’s missing biodiversity</a>. <em>Trends in ecology & evolution</em>, <em>27</em>(9), 501-510.</p></li><li id="note-18"><p>Mora, C., Tittensor, D. P., Adl, S., Simpson, A. G., & Worm, B. (2011). How many species are there on Earth and in the ocean?. <em>PLoS Biol</em>, <em>9</em>(8), e1001127.</p></li><li id="note-19"><p>Lewis, S. L., Edwards, D. P., & Galbraith, D. (2015). <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/349/6250/827">Increasing human dominance of tropical forests</a>. <em>Science</em>, <em>349</em>(6250), 827-832.</p></li></ol><h3 id="licence">Reuse our work freely</h3><p>All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Creative Commons BY license</a>. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.</p><p>The data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. We will always indicate the original source of the data in our documentation, so you should always check the license of any such third-party data before use and redistribution.</p><p>All of <a href="/how-to-use-our-world-in-data#how-to-embed-interactive-charts-in-your-article">our charts can be embedded</a> in any site.</p><h3 id="citation">Citation</h3><p>Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this entry, please also cite the underlying data sources. This entry can be cited as:</p><pre class="citation">Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser (2021) - "Biodiversity". <em>Published online at OurWorldInData.org.</em> Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity' [Online Resource]</pre><p>BibTeX citation</p><pre class="citation">@article{owidbiodiversity,
author = {Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser},
title = {Biodiversity},
journal = {Our World in Data},
year = {2021},
note = {https://ourworldindata.org/biodiversity}
}</pre></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div></footer></div></div></div></article></main><div id="wpadminbar" style="display:none"><div class="quicklinks" id="wp-toolbar" role="navigation" aria-label="Toolbar"><ul id="wp-admin-bar-root-default" class="ab-top-menu"><li id="wp-admin-bar-site-name" class="menupop"><a class="ab-item" aria-haspopup="true" href="https://owid.cloud/wp/wp-admin">Wordpress</a></li> <li id="wp-admin-bar-edit"><a class="ab-item" href="https://owid.cloud/wp/wp-admin/post.php?post=42049&action=edit">Edit Page</a></li></ul></div></div><section class="donate-footer"><div class="wrapper"><div class="owid-row flex-align-center"><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-3 owid-padding-bottom--sm-3"><p>Our World in Data is free and accessible for everyone.</p><p>Help us do this work by making a donation.</p></div><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-1"><a href="/donate" class="owid-button donate-button" data-track-note="donate-footer"><span class="label">Donate now</span><span class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="angle-right" class="svg-inline--fa fa-angle-right " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 256 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M64 448c-8.188 0-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25L178.8 256L41.38 118.6c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0l160 160c12.5 12.5 12.5 32.75 0 45.25l-160 160C80.38 444.9 72.19 448 64 448z"></path></svg></span></a></div></div></div></section><footer class="site-footer"><div class="wrapper"><div class="owid-row"><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-1"><ul><li><a href="/about" data-track-note="footer-navigation">About</a></li><li><a href="/about#contact" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Contact</a></li><li><a href="/feedback" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Feedback</a></li><li><a href="/jobs" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Jobs</a></li><li><a href="/funding" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Funding</a></li><li><a href="/about/how-to-use-our-world-in-data" data-track-note="footer-navigation">How to use</a></li><li><a href="/donate" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Donate</a></li><li><a href="/privacy-policy" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Privacy policy</a></li></ul></div><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-1"><ul><li><a href="/blog" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Latest work</a></li><li><a href="/charts" data-track-note="footer-navigation">All charts</a></li></ul><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/OurWorldInData" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/OurWorldinData" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Facebook</a></li><li><a href="https://instagram.com/ourworldindata_official" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Instagram</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/owid" data-track-note="footer-navigation">GitHub</a></li><li><a href="/feed" data-track-note="footer-navigation">RSS Feed</a></li></ul></div><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-1"><div class="logos"><a href="https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/global-development" class="partner-logo" data-track-note="footer-navigation"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/oms-logo.svg" alt="Oxford Martin School logo" loading="lazy"/></a><a href="/owid-at-ycombinator" class="partner-logo" data-track-note="footer-navigation"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/yc-logo.png" alt="Y Combinator logo" loading="lazy"/></a></div></div><div class="owid-col flex-2"><div class="legal"><p>Licenses: All visualizations, data, and articles produced by Our World in Data are open access under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Creative Commons BY license</a>. You have permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. All the software and code that we write is open source and made available via GitHub under the permissive <a href="https://github.com/owid/owid-grapher/blob/master/LICENSE.md " target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MIT license</a>. All other material, including data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data, is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors.</p><p>Please consult our full <a href="/about#legal">legal disclaimer</a>.</p><p><a href="https://global-change-data-lab.org/" class="partner-logo gcdl-logo" data-track-note="footer-navigation"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/gcdl-logo.svg" alt="Global Change Data Lab logo" loading="lazy"/></a>Our World In Data is a project of the <a href="https://global-change-data-lab.org/">Global Change Data Lab</a>, a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number 1186433).</p></div></div></div></div><div class="site-tools"></div><script src="https://polyfill.io/v3/polyfill.min.js?features=es6,fetch,URL,IntersectionObserver,IntersectionObserverEntry"></script><script src="https://ourworldindata.org/assets/commons.js"></script><script src="https://ourworldindata.org/assets/vendors.js"></script><script src="https://ourworldindata.org/assets/owid.js"></script><script>window.runSiteFooterScripts()</script></footer><script>
runTableOfContents({"headings":[{"text":"Summary","slug":"summary","isSubheading":false},{"text":"Biodiversity on Earth today","slug":"biodiversity-on-earth-today","isSubheading":false},{"text":"Humans make up just 0.01% of Earth’s life – what’s the rest?","slug":"humans-make-up-just-0-01-of-earth-s-life-what-s-the-rest","isSubheading":true},{"text":"Oceans, land and deep subsurface: how is life distributed across environments?","slug":"oceans-land-and-deep-subsurface-how-is-life-distributed-across-environments","isSubheading":true},{"text":"How many species are there?","slug":"how-many-species-are-there","isSubheading":true},{"text":"Biodiversity across the world","slug":"biodiversity-across-the-world","isSubheading":false},{"text":"Explore more of our work on Biodiversity","slug":"explore-more-of-our-work-on-biodiversity","isSubheading":false},{"text":"Endnotes","slug":"endnotes","isSubheading":false},{"text":"Licence","slug":"licence","isSubheading":false},{"text":"Citation","slug":"citation","isSubheading":false}],"pageTitle":"Biodiversity and Wildlife"})
runRelatedCharts([])
</script></body></html>