Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the extraordinary variety of life on Earth — from genes and species to ecosystems and the valuable functions they perform. Scientists often speak of three levels of diversity: species, genetic, and ecosystem diversity. In fact, these levels cannot be separated. Each is important, interacting with and influencing others. Changes at one level can cause changes at other levels.
Without Linnaeus, we would not have the common language through which we measure biodiversity: the scientific names of species
What is a species?
Each species is a group of organisms with unique characteristics. An individual of a species can reproduce successfully, creating viable offspring, only with another member of that species. Scientists race to catalog species before they go extinct. New species are still being discovered at Evolutionsmuseet. When a new species is discovered, it is given a name. Scientific naming follows certain rules or conventions established by Linnaeus.
Evolutionsmuseet has 41,025 type specimens: a physical example of an organism used when the species was formally described
Since 2024, we have described 14 new species!
From lichens, to sponges and a trilobite from the Cambrian!
How collections at Evolutionsmuseet have biodiversity impact
Expert staff curate and digitize specimens from our collections, transforming specimens into rich species datasets. By uploading these records to open-access biodiversity platforms, such as the Swedish Species Data Centre (ArtDatabanken) and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) we make critical occurrence and trait data publicly available. Additionally, taxonomists leverage their expertise to identify and describe new species to science, filling gaps in the global tree of life and informing conservation priorities.
We partner with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility
Free and open access to biodiversity data is critical for science and society. GBIF—the Global Biodiversity Information Facility—is an international network and data infrastructure funded by the world's governments and aimed at providing anyone, anywhere, open access to data about all types of life on Earth. Mobilising biodiversity data from Evolutionsmuseet, a collection of 5 million biodiversity occurrence records, has a major impact: economic valuation of the GBIF infrastructure has demonstrated that with every €1 invested, there are up to €12 returns to society, including businesses. View report here.
