Nature and Scope of Zoology: Zoo is the study of animals. Zoology or “Animal Biology”, is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the identification, structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystem.
Biology includes the three major branches-Botany, Zoology and Microbiology. Botany is the study of plants. Theophrastus is the father of Botany. Zoology is concerned with animals. Aristotle is the father of Zoology. Microbiology Deals with Micro-organisms. Father of Microbiology is Antonie Van Leeuwehoek.
Nature of Zoology
- External Morphology: the study of external traits of an organism
2. Internal Morphology: Study of Internal structure. It includes;
i. Anatomy: Study of the Internal structure of an organism that can be observed with the naked eye
ii. Histology: Study of the microscopic structure of tissue after fixing dehydrating, embedding, sectioning, and staining
iii. Cytology: Study of form and structure of cell
3. Cell biology: It is the branch of science that deals with the study of cells as a fundamental unit of living organisms
4. Molecular Biology: Study the nature of bio-molecules and their interaction
5. Physiology: Study of different types of body functions and processes
6. Embryology: The study of events that lead to fertilization, growth, division, and differentiation of a Zygote into an embryo
7. Ecology: It is the study of living organisms concerning other organism and their environment
8. Genetics: Study of Inheritance of characters from one generation to the next generation. It includes heredity and variations
9. Evolution: Study of the origin of life and the study of continuous genetic adaption of the organism to the environment
10. Palaeontology: It is the study of fossils or the remains of organisms of past geological age. This includes paleobotany and palaeozoology
i. Palaeobotany: Study of fossil-Plants
ii. Palaeozoology: Study of fossil animals
11. Biogeography: Study of the distribution of organisms in various parts of the earth. It includes phytogeography and zoogeography
i. Phytogeography: Study of distribution of plants
ii. Zoogeography: Study of distribution of animals
12. Exobiology: Study of the Possibility of living beings on other planets.
13. Endocrinology: Study of endocrine glands
14. Parasitology: Study of Parasites
Scope of Zoology
There is various scope of Zoology a person after completing their 12th in Science can Choose B.Sc in Zoology. After Completing the B.Sc in Zoology many doors will be open some of are
- M.Sc Zoology
- M.Sc Microbiology
- M.Sc Wild Life
- M.sc Environmental Science
- M.sc Biotechnology
- M.Sc Molecular Biology
- M.Sc Cell Biology
- M.Sc Cancer Biology and
- Others…
Job Prospects in zoology
- Zoology as a career has a number of specializations and of which the students are presented with plenty of career options once they choose to be associated with this field. This field is concerned with the preservation and management of animal kingdom and a career in it would mean that you are a part of that responsibility
- A zoologist can get a job in channels like National Geographic, Animal Planet, and Discovery Channel they are in constant need of zoologists for research and Documentaries.
- Zoologists are also hired for Zoos, Wildlife Service, Botanical Garden, National Park, and other related filed
- A zoologist can work in Hospitals, Pharmaceutical companies, veterinary hospital
- Most of the zoologists are employed by colleges and universities where they teach and do research
- A zoologist can work for government agencies in such areas as wildlife management, conservation, and agriculture
- Job scope in private companies such as pharmaceutical companies or biological supply houses that sell animals specimen to laboratories
