ArticleNature communications2018
Mapping knowledge gaps in marine diversity reveals a latitudinal gradient of missing species richness.
Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed.
- Global sea-level rise will create a new biological invasion front.Nature ecology & evolution · 2026Article
- New Species Discoveries Refine Global Biodiversity Patterns.Ecology letters · 2026Article
- Gaps and drivers of global marine animal biodiversity from the surface to abyss.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Review
- Georeferenced database of invasive non-native species occurrences in Brazil.Scientific data · 2025Article
- Deep-sea-floor diversity in Asteroidea is shaped by competing processes across different latitudes and oceans.Nature ecology & evolution · 2025Article
- Standardized diversity estimation uncovers global distribution patterns and drivers of stream insects.npj biodiversity · 2025Article
- Fundamental questions in meiofauna research highlight how small but ubiquitous animals can improve our understanding of Nature.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Exploring latitudinal gradients and environmental drivers of amphipod biodiversity patterns regarding depth and habitat variations.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Non-native species in marine protected areas: Global distribution patterns.Environmental science and ecotechnology · 2024Article
- Insights into Blue Whale (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Exploring the impact of data curation criteria on the observed geographical distribution of mosses.Ecology and evolution · 2023Article
- Development of marine biodiversity database (BISMaL) to enable estimations past habitat conditions for marine life in the northwestern Pacific.Database : the journal of biological databases and curation · 2023Article
- Occurrence-based diversity estimation reveals macroecological and conservation knowledge gaps for global woody plants.Science advances · 2023Article
- Research priorities for the sustainability of coral-rich western Pacific seascapes.Regional environmental change · 2023Article
- The global depth range of marine fishes and their genetic coverage for environmental DNA metabarcoding.Ecology and evolution · 2023Review
- Article
- The future of ocean governance.Reviews in fish biology and fisheries · 2022Review
- Article
- How many replicates to accurately estimate fish biodiversity using environmental DNA on coral reefs?Ecology and evolution · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A reliable description of any spatial pattern in species richness requires accurate knowledge about species geographical distribution. However, sampling bias may generate artefactual absences within species range and compromise our capacity to describe biodiversity patterns. Here, we analysed the spatial distribution of 35,000 marine species (varying from copepods to sharks) to identify missing occurrences (gaps) across their latitudinal range. We find a latitudinal gradient of species absence peaking near the equator, a pattern observed in both shallow and deep waters. The tropical gap in species distribution seems a consequence of reduced sampling effort at low latitudes. Overall, our results suggest that spatial gaps in species distribution are the main cause of the bimodal pattern of marine diversity. Therefore, only increasing sampling effort at low latitudes will reveal if the absence of species in the tropics, and the consequent dip in species richness, are artefacts of sampling bias or a natural phenomenon.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.