intro to zoology

• HISTORY OF ZOOLOGY

  • ANCIENT SCIENCE AGE (also known as the Hellenic period or around 400-330 BC) - Aristotle – the “father” of Zoology
  • MEDIEVAL TIME PERIOD (around the early to late middle ages notably between the 1200s)
  • EARLY MODERN ERA (between the 15th and 17th centuries)
• What is Classification?

  • Classification is the arrangement of organisms into orderly groups based on their similarities

  • Classification is also known as taxonomy

  • Taxonomists are scientists that identify & name organisms
• What are the Benefits of Classifying Organisms

  • Accurately & uniformly names organisms
  • Prevents misnomers such as starfish & jellyfish that aren't really fish
  • Uses same language (Latin or some Greek) for all names
• Binomial Nomenclature - A two-part name describes each kind of organism
• Taxon (taxa - plural) is a category into which related organisms are placed

  There is a hierarchy of groups (taxa) from broadest to most specific

  
  

  • Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, species

  
  

  n: Dear king philip come over for a goose-berry soup
• The THREE MAJOR DOMAINS

  1. Archaea (archaebacteria)– prokaryotic organisms
  2. Bacteria (Eubacteria or "true bacteria– prokaryotic organisms
  3. Eukarya – eukaryotic cell (animals and plants)

  n: A.B.E.
• Anatomy - Study of the structure of entire organisms and their parts
• Cytology


  Study of the structure and function of cells
• Ecology


  Study of the interaction of organisms with their environment
• Embryology


  Study of the development of an animal from the fertilized egg to birth or hatching
• Genetics


  Study of the mechanisms of transmission of traits from parents to offspring
• Histology


  Study of tissues
• Molecular biology


  Study of subcellular details of animal structure and function
• Parasitology


  Study of animals that live in or on other organisms at the expense of the host
• Physiology


  Study of the function of organisms and their parts
• Systematics


  Study of the classification of, and the evolutionary interrelationships among animal groups
• Organic evolution - is change in the genetic makeup of populations of organisms over time