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Special Issue Article

How Many Species Are There on Earth?

Robert M. MayAuthors Info & Affiliations
Science
16 Sep 1988
Vol 241, Issue 4872
pp. 1441-1449
DOI: 10.1126/science.241.4872.1441
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Abstract

This article surveys current answers to the factual question posed in the title and reviews the kinds of information that are needed to make these answers more precise. Various factors affecting diversity are also reviewed. These include the structure of food webs, the relative abundance of species, the number of species and of individuals in different categories of body size, along with other determinants of the commonness and rarity of organisms.

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Published In

Science
Volume 241 | Issue 4872
16 September 1988

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1988 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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Published in print: 16 September 1988

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Robert M. May
Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford, OX1 3PS, England.
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How Many Species Are There on Earth?.Science241,1441-1449(1988).DOI:10.1126/science.241.4872.1441

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