Zoology Lecture 1
Zoology Lecture 1
Zoology Lecture 1
Zoology, branch of biology that studies the members of the animal kingdom
and
animal life in general. It includes both the inquiry into individual animals and their
constituent parts, even to the molecular level, and the inquiry into animal
plants, and to the nonliving environment. Though this wide range of studies
in the contemporary study of living things that has occurred in recent years
emphasizes the structural and functional unity of life rather than its diversity.
Meaning of Zoology
The word zoology originated from two ancient Greek words "zoion" meaning
"animal" and "logia" meaning "the study or. Therefore, the word literally means
civilization since its start. The ancient civilization of India, China, Egypt, Greece,
etc. has always been fascinated by the animal kingdom and we can see many
zoological studies.
Biodiversity: Biodiversity, short for "biological diversity," refers to the wide variety
richness and variability of life forms within different habitats and ecosystems
around the world. Biodiversity is a fundamental aspect of life on our planet and
Scope of Zoology
Zoology has a wide range of scopes, some of which are listed below;
Importance of Zoology
The study of zoology is very significant for the understanding of the living
world.
Who is a Zoologist?
A zoologist is a biologist or scientist who specializes in the study and understanding
of animals. They specialize in various aspects of the animal kingdom. including
Branches of Zoology
Zoology is a vast and diverse field of biology having many major and
11. Human Biology, the branch of biology that studies the structure,
function, and diversity of human body systems and organs.
Areas of study
Cytology:
Cell biology is the study of cell structure and function, and it revolves around
the concept that the cell is the fundamental unit of life. Focusing on the cell
compose. Some organisms have only one cell, while others are organized
into cooperative groups with huge numbers of cells. On the whole, cell
biology focuses on the structure and function of a cell, from the most general
Histology:
Anatomy:
The study of the internal and external structures of animals is called
anatomy. Descriptions of external form and internal organization are among
the earliest records available regarding the systematic study of animals.
Aristotle was an indefatigable collector and dissector of animals. He found
differing degrees of structural complexity, which he described with regard to
ways of living, habits, and body parts. Although Aristotle had no formal system
of classification, it is apparent that he viewed animals as arranged from the
simplest to the most complex in an ascending series. Since man was even
more complex than animals and, moreover, possessed a rational faculty, he
therefore occupied the highest position and a special category.
Taxonomy:
Taxonomy refers to the science of naming, describing, and classifying
the other hand, is the study of the diversity of life and the relationships
Physiology:
Physiology is the study of how the human body works. It describes the chemistry
and physics behind basic body functions, from how molecules behave in cells to how
systems of organs work together. It helps understand what happens when your body
is healthy and what goes wrong when you get sick.
Embryology:
Embryology is the branch of biology and medicine concerned with the study of
embryos and their development. It encompasses the study of prenatal
development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos
and fetuses. The study of embryology also includes the study of congenital
disorders that occur before birth, known as teratology. The history of
embryology dates back to the Renaissance, where accurate observations
were made by anatomists such as Aldrovandi and Leonardo da Vinci. The
theory of epigenesis, which is now accepted, was proposed by Aristotle.
Evolutionism (Phenology):
Evolutionism is a term used to denote the theory of evolution. Its exact meaning
has changed over time as the study of evolution has progressed. In the 19th
century, it was used to describe the belief that organisms deliberately improved
themselves through progressive inherited change (orthogenesis). The
teleological belief went on to include cultural evolution and social evolution. In
the 1970s, the term "Neo- Evolutionism" was used to describe the idea that
"human beings sought to preserve a familiar style of life unless change was
forced on them by factors that were beyond their control."
The term is most often used by creationists to describe adherence the scientific
consensus on evolution as equivalent to a secular religion. The term is very
seldom used within the scientific community, since the scientific position on
evolution is accepted by the overwhelming majority of scientists. Because
evolutionary biology is the default scientific position, it is assumed that
"scientists" or "biologists" are "evolutionists" unless specifically noted otherwise.
In the creation evolution controversy, creationists often call those who accept
the validity of the modern evolutionary synthesis "evolutionists" and the theory
itself "evolutionism·. Darwin was not the first to speculate that organisms can
change from generation to generation and so evolve, but he was the first to
propose a mechanism by which the changes are accumulated. He proposed
that heritable variations occur in conjunction with a never-ending competition for
survival and that the variations favoring survival are automatically preserved. In
time, therefore, the continued accumulation of variations results in the
emergence of new forms. Because the variations that are preserved relate to
survival, the survivors are highly adapted to their environment. To this process
Darwin gave the apt name natural selection.
Many of Darwin's predecessors, notably Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, were willing to
accept the idea of species variation, even though to do so meant denying the
doctrine of special creation and the static-type species of Linnaeus. But they
argued that some idealized perfecting principle, expressed through the habits of
an organism, was the basis of variation. The contrast between the romanticism
of Lamarck and the objective analysis of Darwin clearly reveals the type of
revolution provoked by the concept of natural selection. Although mechanistic
explanations had long been available to biologists forming, for example, part of
Harvey's explanation of blood circulation they did not pervade the total structure
of biological thinking until the advent of Darwinism.
Genetics
The problem of heredity had been the subject of careful study before its definitive
analysis by Mendel. As with Darwin's predecessors, those of Mendel tended to
idealize and interpret all inherited traits as being transmitted through the blood
inheritance, apparently never saw Mendel's work, which was published in 1866
in the obscure journal of his local natural history society; it was simultaneously
Further progress in genetics was made early in the 20th century, when it was
realized that heredity factors are found on chromosomes. The term gene was
coined for these factors. Studies by the American geneticist Thomas Hunt
Morgan on the fruit fly (Drosophila), moved animal genetics to the forefront of
genetic research. The work of Morgan and his students established such major
the fruit fly, thereby opening the door to major studies on the
nature of variation.
Meanwhile, other organisms were being used for genetic studies, most notably
fungi and bacteria. The results of this work provided insights into animal
genetics just as
-
principles initially obtained from animal genetics provided insight into botanical
and
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microbial forms. Work continues not only on the genetics of humans, domestic
animals, and plants but also on the control of development through the orderly
Although the cell was recognized as the basic unit of life early in the 19th
century, its most exciting period of inquiry has probably occurred since the
1940s. The new techniques developed since that time, notably the perfection
of the electron microscope and the tools of biochemistry, have changed the
cytological studies of the 19th and early 20th centuries from a largely
The biochemical study of life had helped in the characterization of the major
molecules of living systems which are proteins, nucleic acids, fats, and
acids are a distinctive feature of the nucleus was recognized after their discovery
The advent of techniques for isolating and characterizing proteins and nucleic
others may involve the role of one species in its ecosystem or the ecosystem
and the efficiency of the transfer of energy and matter within them has been
General trends
Zoology has become animal biology that is, the life sciences display a new
unity, one that is founded on the common basis of all life, on the gene pool-
species organization of organisms, and on the obligatory interacting of the
components of ecosystems. Even as regards the specialized features of
animals involving physiology, development, or behavior. The current emphasis
is on elucidating the broad biological principles that identify animals as one
aspect of nature. Zoology has thus given up its exclusive emphasis on animals
to an emphasis maintained from Aristotle's time well into the 19th century in
favor of a broader view of life. The successes in applying physical and chemical
ideas and techniques to life processes have not only unified the life sciences
but have also created bridges to other sciences in a way only dimly foreseen by
earlier workers. The practical and theoretical consequences of this trend have
just begun to be realized.