The available data on Quebec's biodiversity lists 23454 species, which represents only a small proportion of the nearly 40,000 species that are estimated to occur in the province.
1521 species have been documented by the Réseau de suivi de la biodiversité field surveys since monitoring began in 2016.
Knowledge is highly variable between groups, for example, an estimated 94% of bird species have been documented compared to only 77% of fungi
North of the 49th parallel, 75% of Quebec's species have been documented, whereas this proportion rises to 79% in the south.
There has been a significant increase in knowledge about biodiversity in Quebec since 1960 according to the Biodiversité Québec observation database, although a large proportion of species have yet to be documented. The shortfall can be explained by the lack of observations in northern regions, where climate change is expected to occur most rapidly. Knowledge in terms of documented species is very heterogeneous, with a great disparity between the south and the north, as well as between vertebrates and invertebrates. The field surveys of the biodiversity monitoring program help to fill some gaps about less documented species groups and geographic areas. While some groups, such as invertebrates, are poorly documented in Quebec (less than 20 observations on average per species in the field surveys), others are widely observed, such as bats, with over 4000 observations on average per species. This gap can be explained by sampling methods and the high diversity of certain taxonomic groups.
The calculation of the knowledge indicator is based on observations contained in the Biodiversité Québec database, which is used to estimate observed diversity (number of species and groups of species documented).
Data sources The data come from the field inventories of the Quebec Biodiversity Monitoring Program (Réseau de suivi de la biodiversité du Québec) and from observations in the Biodiversité Québec observations database. This database compiles ecological observations on abundance or occurrence from numerous scientific sources, citizen science organizations, and wildlife and plant monitoring organizations. These data and their sources can be explored in our Atlas portal.
Treatment The indicator is calculated with data from the Biodiversité Québec observation database. They are grouped according to their latitudinal location to produce the accumulation of knowledge at the provincial level as well as for the area north and south of the 49th parallel.
The documented richness proportions presented in some secondary indicators are derived from an estimate based on Biodiversité Québec data. These proportions are obtained via a rarefaction analysis using the number of observations per species for the geographic area or species group of interest.
The rarefaction analyses estimate the total number of species and species groups (estimated richness) using known observations. A richness curve is parameterized with these observations, then extrapolated to estimate the asymptote (estimated total richness). This analysis is performed with the R package "iNEXT". Finally, to produce the proportion that constitutes these secondary indicators, we calculate the ratio between the number of documented species and total estimated richness.
It should be noted that rarity analyses are sensitive to sampling effort and that Biodiversité Québec data are not unbiased with respect to the taxonomic and spatial coverage of Quebec's biodiversity. Search effort has been greater in southern Quebec and for some of the more charismatic species groups. In fact, these analyses, and the indicators that present them, highlight gaps in our knowledge of Quebec's biodiversity. Additional data will need to be collected and added to the Biodiversité Québec databases for these analyses to reflect a satisfactory level of knowledge of Quebec's biodiversity.
iNEXT R package Hsieh TC, Ma KH, Chao A (2022). iNEXT: Interpolation and Extrapolation for Species Diversity. R package version 3.0.0.
Rapport sur la contribution du Québec au plan stratégique de la convention des Nations Unies sur la diversité biologique 2011-2020 et ses objectifs d'Aichi Ministère de l’Environnement et de la lutte contre les changements climatiques. (2022). Rapport sur la contribution du Québec au plan stratégique de la convention des Nations Unies sur la diversité biologique 2011-2020 et ses objectifs d'Aichi
Québec's vertebrate wildlife list (LFVQ) Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs. (2021). Liste de la faune vertébrée du Québec (LFVQ).
Weakness of knowledge on invertebrate wildlife in Quebec Corporation entomofaune du Québec. (1988). Faiblesse des connaissances faunistiques sur les invertébrés du québec, Mémoire de la coporation entomofaune du Québec
To learn more on the data Filed surveys section Atlas section