Lutra 58(1)_Thomassen_Editorial_2015

On Original Species

While reading the proof sheets of this new issue of Lutra I became aware how all the articles in this issue are based on research that is quite original, in one way or another. ‘Original research’ has a very specific meaning in science and ironically Van Vuure’s article, which made me first think about originality, is not strictly original research, but more of a review. However, using linguistics as a basis for determining the historical occurrence of the wisent (or European bison) in various parts of the continent really is a novel and innovative approach towards the matter. But this article is about originality in more than one way. The question of which species are part of the original fauna of a country or region and those that are non-natives is currently a hot topic in nature conservation. There are numerous cases of introduced species outcompeting their indigenous cousins or otherwise causing problems. In many cases, exotic species have been introduced unintentionally when they hitched a ride with man, but there are many other examples where the introduction of some seemingly useful animal was intentional – though often misguided. But conservationists also need to watch their step...