The Couch Candy Protocol

TL;DR

By applying the "couch candy protocol" that estimates the number of candies missed based on how often new kinds are discovered, researchers have estimated that there are approximately 9,200 undiscovered tree species on Earth.

Transcript

How do we count things we don't know about? Like, how many forgotten candies are hiding in your couch cushions…or how many weird life forms on Earth have we yet to discover? Say you do want to know how many different kinds of candy are lurking in the crevices of your couch… you could start reaching between the cushions and grabbing what you see. By... Read More

Key Insights

• 🍬 The "couch candy protocol" provides a method to estimate the number of undiscovered items.
• 🌲 Applying this protocol, researchers estimated that there are approximately 9,200 undiscovered tree species on Earth.
• 🌲 Our current knowledge of tree biodiversity represents only a fraction of what is likely present.
• 🖤 The lack of cataloging in biodiverse areas contributes to our limited understanding of the natural world.
• 💨 The "couch candy protocol" offers a practical way to estimate unknowns in various domains, not just tree species.
• 😀 The ASCEND project aims to understand plant biodiversity and its implications in the face of global change.
• 😎 Reflected photons from the sun are utilized by ASCEND to study biological variation and its impact on ecological communities.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does the "couch candy protocol" work in estimating the number of undiscovered items?

The protocol estimates the number of undiscovered items by analyzing the frequency of discovering new types. If new types are still regularly being found, it suggests that there are still many undiscovered kinds remaining.

Q: How did researchers apply the "couch candy protocol" to estimate the number of undiscovered tree species?

Researchers collected data on individual trees cataloged by scientists, including the number of times each species has been seen. By running these numbers through equations, they estimated that there are approximately 9,200 undiscovered tree species.

Q: How does the estimated number of undiscovered tree species compare to the number of identified tree species?

The estimated 9,200 undiscovered tree species is about an eighth of the currently identified 64,000 tree species. This suggests that our knowledge of tree biodiversity is still incomplete.

Q: Why is there still much to discover about the natural world, including tree species?

Many biodiverse tropical areas have not been thoroughly cataloged, and researchers have limited resources and time to explore every corner of the planet. Therefore, it is not surprising that there is still a significant amount of unknown biodiversity.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The "couch candy protocol" can be used to estimate the number of unknown items by analyzing how often new types are discovered.

• Researchers applied this protocol to estimate that there are around 9,200 undiscovered tree species on Earth.

• This suggests that our current knowledge of the natural world, including tree species, is limited and there is much more left to discover.