Australian Biological Resources Study
A.D.Chapman
Australian Biodiversity Information Services, Toowoomba, Australia
A Report for the Department of the Environment and Heritage, September 2005
ISBN (printed) 978 0 642 56849 6
ISBN (online) 978 0 642 56850 2
When one compares Australia against the rest of the world, it can be seen that Australia has a relatively high index of biodiversity. The Overall Diversity Index (DI) for Australia, as calculated by Groombridge and Jenkins (2002), is 0.608. This index is based on richness and endemicity and places Australia third after only Brazil (0.74) and Indonesia (0.731). A more realistic placing, using the Arrhenius equation (AI) which takes into account area relationships (Groombridge and Jenkins 2002), places Australia 11th, with a figure of 1.268, after Indonesia (1.844), Colombia (1.685), Mexico (1.621), Ecuador (1.519), Brazil (1.436), Venezuela (1.398), Costa Rica (1.358), Peru (1.344), Malaysia (1.28) and Madagascar (1.277).
A detailed study of comparisons with other countries has not been made, however the following table from the Brazil Ministry of the Environment (1999) which looks at biodiversity in Brazil (a country similar in size to Australia), may be of interest. It may be possible to update and improve this information for later versions of this document. Also see Appendix 4 in Groombridge and Jenkins (2002).
| Number of species | Freshwater fish | Vertebrates (except fish) | Birds | Mammals | Reptiles | Amphibians | Flowering plants | Total |
| Total | >3 000 | 3 131 | 1 622 | 524 | 468 | 517 | ~50 000 | |
| Ranking | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 5th | 2nd | 1st | 1st |
| Endemic | n/a | 788 | >191 | 131 | 172 | 294 | ~17 500 | |
| Rank | 4th | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 2nd | 1st | 2nd |
n/a = data not available.
Source: Mittermeier et al. (1997).
Also the following table comparing biodiversity in a number of countries.
| Country | Total diversity | Endemism | Endemism as percentage of global diversity of higher plantsb |
| Brazil | ~50 000–~56 000 | ~16 500–18 500 | 6.6–7.4 |
| Indonesia | ~37 000 | 14 800–18 500 | 5.9–7.4 |
| Colombia | ~45 000–~51 000 | 15 000–17 000 | 6.0–6.8 |
| Mexico | 18 000–30 000 | 10 000–15 000 | 4.0–6.0 |
| Australia | 15 638 | 14 458 | 5.8 |
| Madagascar | 11 000–12 000 | 8 800–9 600 | 3.5–3.8 |
| China | 27 100–30 000 | ~10 000 | ~4.0 |
| Philippines | 8 000–12 000 | 3 800–6 000 | 1.5–2.4 |
| India | >17 000 | 7 025–7 875 | 2.8–3.2 |
| Peru | 18 000–20 000 | 5 356 | 2.1 |
| Papua New Guinea | 15 000–21 000 | 10 500–16 000 | 4.2–6.4 |
| Ecuador | 17 600–21 100 | 4 000–5 000 | 1.6–2.0 |
| United States | 18 956 | 4 036 | 1.6 |
| Venezuela | 15 000–21 070 | 5 000–8 000 | 2.0–3.2 |
| Malaysia | 15 000 | 6 500–8 000 | 2.6–3.2 |
| South Africa | 23 420 | 16 500 | 6.6 |
| Dem. Rep. of Congo | 11 000 | 3 200 | 1.3 |
Source: Mittermeier et al. (1997).
| Country | Mammals | Birds | Reptiles | Amphibians | Vertebrates (except fish) |
Non endemic endemic |
Endemism as % of global diversity: all vertebrates (excluding fish) |
Freshwater fisha |
| Brazil | 524 (131)b | 1 622 (>191) | 468 (172) | 517 (294) | 3 131 (788) | 3.97:1 | ~3.3 | >3 000 |
| Indonesia | 515 (201) | 1 531 (397) | 511 (150) | 270 (100) | 2 827 (848) | 3.33:1 | 3.5 | 1 400 |
| Colombia | 456 (28) | 1 815 (>142) | 520 (97) | 583 (367) | 3 374 (634) | 5.32:1 | 2.6 | >1 500 |
| Mexico | 450 (140) | 1 050 (125) | 717 (368) | 284 (169) | 2 501 (802) | 3.12:1 | ~3.3 | 468 |
| Australia | 282 (210) | 751 (355) | 755 (616) | 196 (169) | 1 984 (1 350) | 1.47:1 | ~5.6 | 183 |
| Madagascar | 105 (77) | 253 (103) | 300 (274) | 178 (176) | 836 (630) | 1.33:1 | 2.6 | 75 |
| China | 499 (77) | 1 244 (99) | 387 (133) | 274 (175) | 2 404 (484) | 4.97:1 | 2.0 | 1 010 |
| Philippines | 201 (116) | 556 (183) | 193 (131) | 63 (44) | 1 013 (474) | 2.14:1 | 1.98 | 330 |
| India | 350 (44) | 1 258 (52) | 408 (187) | 206 (110) | 2 222 (393) | 5.65:1 | 1.6 | 750 |
| Peru | 344 (46) | 1 703 (109) | 298 (98) | 241 (>89) | 2 586 (342) | 7.56:1 | 1.4 | 855 |
| Papua New Guinea | 242 (57) | 762 (85) | 305 (79) | 200 (134) | 1 509 (355) | 4.25:1 | 1.5 | 282 |
| Ecuador | 271 (21) | 1 559 (37) | 374 (114) | 402 (138) | 2 606 (310) | 8.41:1 | 1.3 | >44 |
| United States | 428 (101) | 768 (71) | 261 (90) | 194 (126) | 1 651 (388) | 4.34:1 | 1.6 | 790 |
| Venezuela | 288 (11) | 1 360 (45) | 293 (57) | 204 (76) | 2 145 (189) | 11.35:1 | 0.8 | 1 250 |
| Malaysia | 286 (27) | 738 (11) | 268 (68) | 158 (57) | 1 450 (163) | 8.90:1 | 0.7 | 600 |
| South Africa | 247 (27) | 774 (7) | 299 (76) | 95 (36) | 1 415 (146) | 9.69:1 | 0.6 | 153 |
| Dem. Rep. of Congo | 415 (28) | 1 094 (23) | 268 (33) | 80 (53) | 1 857 (137) | 13.55:1 | 0.6 | 962 |
The 17 megadiversity countries have 8 443 species of endemic vertebrates excluding fish, or 33.1% of the global diversity of these groups.
Source: Mittermeier et al. (1997).