Indigenous (ecology)

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In biogeography, a species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention.[1] The term is equivalent to native in less scientific usage. Every wild organism (as opposed to a domesticated organism) has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as indigenous. Outside this native range, a species may be introduced by human activity, either intentionally or unintentionally; it is then referred to as an introduced species within the regions where it was anthropogenically introduced.[2]

The notion of 'indigenous' is of necessity a blurred concept, and is clearly a function of both time and political boundaries. Seen over long periods of time, plants take part in the constant movement of tectonic plates - species appear and may flourish, endure or become extinct, but their distribution is never static or confined to a particular geographic location.


The terms endemic and indigenous do not imply that an organism necessarily originated or evolved from where it is found.

See also[edit]


  1. ^ CEQ (1999). Executive Order 13112
  2. ^ "Introduced species". Science Daily. Retrieved 26 December 2017.

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