Species indigenous to a given area in geologic time

Native species

Native species

In <a href="/en/Biogeography" title="Biogeography" class="wl">biogeography</a>, a native species is indigenous to a given region or <a href="/en/Ecosystem" title="Ecosystem" class="wl">ecosystem</a> if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during <a href="/en/History" title="History" class="wl">history</a>.<a href="#cite_note-CEQ2-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a> The term is equivalent to the concept of indigenous or autochthonous species.<a href="#cite_note-rhode-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a><a href="#cite_note-mwautochth-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a> Every wild organism (as opposed to a <a href="/en/Domestication" title="Domestication" class="wl">domesticated</a> organism) is known as an <a href="/en/Introduced_species" title="Introduced species" class="wl">introduced species</a> within the regions where it was <a href="/en/Human_impact_on_the_environment#anthropogenic" title="Human impact on the environment" class="wl">anthropogenically</a> introduced.<a href="#cite_note-IntroducedDS-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a> If an introduced species causes substantial ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage, it may be regarded more specifically as an <a href="/en/Invasive_species" title="Invasive species" class="wl">invasive species</a>.

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Species indigenous to a given area in geologic time</div>
<figure class="mw-halign-right wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Mainelupin.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Mainelupin.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Mainelupin.jpg/200px-Mainelupin.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="590" data-file-height="791" data-file-type="bitmap" height="268" width="200" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Mainelupin.jpg/300px-Mainelupin.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Mainelupin.jpg/400px-Mainelupin.jpg 2x" alt="Mainelupin.jpg"></a><figcaption>Large-leaved lupine (<a href="/en/Lupinus_polyphyllus" title="Lupinus polyphyllus" class="wl">Lupinus polyphyllus</a>): native to western North America but introduced and invasive in several areas worldwide</figcaption></figure>
The notion of nativity is often a blurred concept, as it is a function of both time and political boundaries.<a href="#cite_note-levin2017-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a><a href="#cite_note-aitken2018-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;">[6]</a> Over long periods of time, local conditions and migratory patterns are constantly changing as <a href="/en/Tectonic_plates" title="Tectonic plates" class="mw-redirect wl">tectonic plates</a> move, join, and split. <a href="/en/Climate_variability_and_change" title="Climate variability and change" class="wl">Natural climate change</a> (which is much slower than <a href="/en/Climate_change" title="Climate change" class="wl">human-caused climate change</a>) changes sea level, ice cover, temperature, and rainfall, driving direct changes in habitability and indirect changes through the presence of predators, competitors, food sources, and even <a href="/en/Great_Oxidation_Event" title="Great Oxidation Event" class="wl">oxygen levels</a>. Species do naturally appear, reproduce, and endure, or become extinct, and their distribution is rarely static or confined to a particular geographic location. Moreover, the distinction between native and non-native as being tied to a local occurrence during <a href="/en/History" title="History" class="wl">historical</a> times has been criticised as lacking perspective, and a case was made for more graded categorisations such as that of prehistoric natives, which occurred in a region during prehistory but have since suffered <a href="/en/Local_extinction" title="Local extinction" class="wl">local extinction</a> there due to human involvement.<a href="#cite_note-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;">[7]</a>

A native species in a location is not necessarily also <a href="/en/Endemism" title="Endemism" class="wl">endemic</a> to that location. Endemic species are exclusively found in a particular place.<a href="#cite_note-oedendemic-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 8;">[8]</a> A native species may occur in areas other than the one under consideration. The terms endemic and native also do not imply that an organism necessarily first originated or <a href="/en/Evolution" title="Evolution" class="wl">evolved</a> where it is currently found.<a href="#cite_note-envirofacts-9" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 9;">[9]</a>

In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution during history. If an introduced species causes substantial ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage, it may be regarded more specifically as an invasive species. The notion of nativity is often a blurred concept, as it is a function of both time and political boundaries. A native species in a location is not necessarily also endemic to that location. Endemic species are exclusively found in a particular place. 