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An aquatic invertebrate of the Elmidae family. |
When applied to the Rideau River, the concept of biodiversity
includes the great variety of species that live in and along the River,
their habitat and their interactions, not to mention the beneficial effect
of this small paradise on visitors!
With every passing day, our portrait of the natural
world is enlarged and enriched. As the table below shows, however, this
portrait remains incomplete; we know only a small fraction of the species
living on Earth. Many living species disappear entirely before we even learn
of them.
200
|
4,000
|
400,000
|
99%
|
2,000
|
4,000
|
1,000,000
|
99%
|
6,000
|
40,000
|
400,000
|
90%
|
5,000
|
270,000
|
320,000
|
15%
|
1,000
|
40,000
|
200,000
|
80%
|
8,000
|
90,000
|
750,000
|
88%
|
1,500
|
100,000
|
200,000
|
50%
|
30,000
|
950,000
|
8,000,000
|
88%
|
200
|
23,500
|
25,000
|
93%
|
44
|
5,000
|
6,000
|
17%
|
45
|
7,400
|
8,000
|
8%
|
430
|
9,900
|
10,000
|
1%
|
200
|
4,600
|
5,000
|
8%
|
54,619
|
1,548,150
|
11,324,000
|
|
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a
Canada's biodiversity. [33] |
b
Global Biodiversity Assessment. [34] |
c
Catalog of Fishes.
[35] |
d
Conversations among specific scientists. [36] |
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