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In [[biogeography]], a [[species]] is defined as native to a given region or [[ecosystem]] if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural [[organism]] (as opposed to a [[domestication|domesticated]] organism) has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native. Outside this native range, a species may be introduced by human activity; it is then referred to as an ''[[introduced species]]'' within the regions where it was anthropogenically introduced.
An indigenous species is not necessarily [[Endemism|endemic]]. In biology and ecology, endemic means ''exclusively'' native to the [[Biota (ecology)|biota]] of a specific place. An indigenous species may occur in areas other than the one under consideration.
The terms endemic and indigenous do not imply that an organism necessarily originated or [[evolution|evolved]] where it is found.
==See also==
*[[Endemism]]
*[[Invasive species]]
==References==
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_(ecology)
==External links==
*{{wplink}}