How many beings live on earth

Thus a single species of hermit crab is classified in the decapod order, which belongs to the sub-phylum of crustaceans, the phylum of arthropods, and finally the animal kingdom. The authors, in their analysis of existing data on 1. That allowed them to use data from higher orders — such as anthropods, where there is a lot of data — to predict the number of creatures at the species level. Their estimate that the various forms of life on the planet included 7.

The researchers did not venture to put an estimate on the number of bacteria. Scientists have been trying to count and catalogue the living world for years, since around the time when the Linnaeus devised his method of cataloging and naming living things.

Current estimates range from 3m to m. We don't know how big the phone book is," said Derek Tittensor , a co-author who works for the UN Environment Programme. Robert May, a former UK government science adviser, acknowledged that this effort, like all those of its predecessors, was based on imperfect knowledge.

But he said the study's conclusions were reasonable. At one end of the thing, you have birds and mammals that really are completely known. At the other end, you have just got a handful of branches and twigs. But if you do the big assumption the trees are similar, then it seems sensible. The new estimate — like those that came before it — is unlikely to be the last word.

Linnaeus, in his day, was confident he had captured the entire world of living things: he named about 10, species, most of which were confined to Europe. More modern attempts to classify the living world have sought patterns from the size of living creatures, or their location. Were there more species in hot, tropical zones or in cooler areas?

And what about the ocean depths? Others focused on the relationship between species. Part of the problem is that we cannot simply count the number of life forms. Many live in inaccessible habitats such as the deep sea , are too small to see, are hard to find, or live inside other living things.

So, instead of counting, scientists try to estimate the total number of species by looking for patterns in biodiversity. In the early s, the American entomologist Terry Erwin famously estimated the number of species on Earth by spraying pesticides into the canopy of tropical rainforest trees in Panama.

At least 1, species of beetle fell to the ground, of which lived only on a single tree species. Many scientists believe the 30 million number is far too high. Later estimates arrived at figures under 10 million. In , scientists used a technique based on patterns in the number of species at each level of biological classification to arrive at a much lower prediction of about 8.

But most estimates of global biodiversity overlook microorganisms such as bacteria because many of these organisms can only be identified to species level by sequencing their DNA. After compiling and analysing a database of DNA sequences from 5 million microbe species from 35, sites around the world, researchers concluded that there are a staggering 1 trillion species on Earth.

But, like previous estimates, this one relies on patterns in biodiversity, and not everyone agrees these should be applied to microorganisms. Most — and possibly all — insect species are the victim of at least one or more species of parasitic wasp. These lay their eggs in or on a host species think of the movie Aliens, if the aliens had wings. Researchers suggest that the insect group containing wasps may be the largest group of animals on the planet. And we are already overusing at percent….

The human population is dependent on the Earth's ecosystems to survive. But the relationship between man and nature has been thrown out of balance - quite a lot actually. Such a situation cannot go on. Of course, It is not simply the number of people that determines the impact of the planet. It is how much we consume and how much waste we produce.

At current trends, the planet cannot sustain 10 billion people and a world economy many times larger than today. There is a need for a new industrial revolution where economic wealth goes hand-in-hand with environmental and social sustainability.

And fast. We are reaching critical tipping points beyond which it will be too late to reverse negative trends. Not just for the human population but for the sake of all life on Earth. OK, so the world population of humans is approaching 10 billion. But humans are just one species Estimates of the total number of species on Earth range from 8. A single species can have a population of trillions of individuals.

For instance, there are about 5 million trillion trillion bacteria on Earth. Of course, bacteria are pretty small. If calculated by weight, the human population makes up about one ten-thousandth of life on Earth. Despite the explosive growth of the world population, especially in the last years, the human population makes up only a tiny fraction of life on Earth. If you weigh all life on Earth, the human population only makes up about one ten-thousandth of it measured by the dry weight of the carbon that all life on Earth is build of, also known as biomass.

With almost 82 percent, plants make up the large majority of life on our planet. But even if we take out plants, humans still make up only 6 percent of 1 percent of life on Earth or 1 in Even if we take only animals and disregard all other forms of life plants, bacteria, fungi etc.