chapt01_intro to zoo

Zoology

The scientific study of animal life.

Principles of modern zoology

Derived from laws of physics and chemistry, and the scientific method.

General Properties of Living Systems

Unique characteristics of living systems, including chemical uniqueness, complexity and hierarchical organization, reproduction, possession of a genetic program, and metabolism.

Development

The characteristic changes that an organism undergoes from its origin to its final adult form.

Environmental Interaction

The interaction between animals and their environments.

Ecology

The study of organismal interaction with an environment.

Irritability

The property of organisms responding to environmental stimuli.

Eukaryotes

Cells that contain membrane-enclosed nuclei.

Heterotrophs

Organisms that are not capable of manufacturing their own food and rely on external food sources.

Chloroplasts

Organelles involved in photosynthesis.

Flagellum

A structure that enables motility.

Autotrophic nutrition

Plants usually obtain simple minerals from soil and CO2 from air, using energy from sunlight to synthesize complex materials.

Heterotrophic nutrition

Animals require complex synthesized food from plants or other animals.

Nature of science

Science is guided by natural law, explained by reference to natural law, testable against the observable world, and its conclusions are tentative.

Scientific Method

The process of making a conjecture, seeking empirical tests, and drawing conclusions based on the results.

Hypothesis

Potential answers to questions derived from prior observations or theories.

Theory

A powerful hypothesis that explains a wide variety of related phenomena.

Paradigms

Powerful theories that guide extensive research.

Scientific revolution

The refutement and replacement of a paradigm.

Experimental Sciences

Sciences that seek to understand the immediate causes underlying biological systems with a goal to explain how animals perform metabolic, physiological, and behavioural functions at the molecular, cellular, organismal, and population levels

Evolutionary Sciences

Sciences that address questions of ultimate causes and rely on the comparative method than experimentation with its ultimate cause being rosponsible for the origin, state of being, or purpose of a biological system.

Comparative Method

Comparing molecular biology, cell biology, organismal structure, development, and ecology among related species to identify patterns of variation.

Animal Morphology

study of animal form as a whole

Animal Histology

study of microstructure of tissues

Gross Anatomy

study of the general visible structures of animals as revealed by dissection

Animal Physiology

study of living processes and functions of parts of the animal body

Animal Embryology

study of the development and growth of the new individual within the egg or within the mother

Genetics

study of the laws of heredity and variation

Ecology

study of relationships of the animals to their environment

Taxonomy

study of animal classification

Paleontology

study of fossil animals and their distribution in time

Zoogeography

study of distribution of animals according to space and region

Ethology

study of animal behaviour

Evolution

study of the origin and differentiation of animal life

Protozoology

study of protozoans

Icthyology

study of fishes

Ornithology

study of birds

Malacology

study of mollusks

Anthropology

study of man

Mammalogy

study of mammals

Parasitology

study of parasites

Conchology

study of shells

Herpetology

study of reptiles and amphibians

Aristotle

([384-322 BC] Father of Zoology) wrote “The History of Animals” which includs the structure and animals native to Greece, Macedonia, and Asia Minor.

Galen

(130-200 AD) thefirst experimental physiologist and performed experiments to study the functions of the nerves and blood vessels

Pliny

(23-73 AD) wrote “National History” - encyclpedia of 37 book mostly about plants and animals

Leonardo da Vinci

(1452-1519) an Italian engineer, inventor, painter, anatomist, and paleontologist

Karl Ernst von Baer

(1792-1876) worked on the origin of the mammallian and human egg and the developmental history of animals

Antoine Van Leeuwenhoek

devoted his life to microscopic work and made lenses for himself

Carolus Linnaeus

([1707 - 1778] Father of Taxonomy) established universal system of classification and nomenclature.

Robert Hooke

discovered the cell using cork tissue

Robert Brown

(1773 - 1858) described the nuclei in plant cells

Mattias Schleiden and Theodore Schwann

formulated cell theory

Cell Theory

states that all living things are made up of cells and their cell products

Charles Darwin

(1809 - 1882) established the theory of evolution based from natural selection

Louis Pasteur

([1809-1882] Father of Bacteriology) laid down on foundation of immunity

Johann Gregor Mendel

([1822 - 1884] Father of Genetics) formulated laws of genetics (Mendelian Laws) based from his pea plants experiments

Watson and Crick

created the nobel-prize winning model of DNA

General Properties of Living Systems

• Chemical Uniqueness

• Complexity and Hierarchical Organization

• Possesion of Genetic Program

• Reproduction

• Metabolism

• Development

• Environmental Interaction

• Movement

Chemical Uniqueness

living systems demonstrate a unique and complex molecular organization, organizational structure of macromolecules makes them unique

Complexity and Hierarchical Organization

living systems demonstrate a unique and complex hierarchical organization levels:

1. Macromolecules

2. Cells

3. Organisms

4. Populations

5. Species

Reproduction

living systems can reproduce themselves, with each level of biological hierarchy:

• Genes replicated to produce new genes

• Cells divide producing new cells

• Organisms reproduce sexually or asexually

• Populations fragment to produce new populations

• Species split to produce new species

Possession of a Genetic Program

having a genetic program provids fidelity of inheritance

Metabolism

living organisms maintaining themselves by acquiring nutrients from their environments; with an interaction of destructive (catabolic) and constructive (anabolic) reactions

Metabolic Processes

• Digestion

• Energy Production (Respiration)

• Synthesis of required molecules and structures by organisms

Development

all organisms pass through a characteristic life cycle; describe an organism’s change from its origin to its final from

Environmental Inteaction

all animals interact with their environments; inside ecology’s scope

Movement

living systems and parts show precise and controlled movements arising from within the system; living systems extract energy from their enviornments permitting the iniation of controlled movements; from a cellular level to a larger scale;

Plants

autotrophic nutrition and needs simple mineral and energy to synthesize complex materials, has a rigid cell wall with cellulose, restricted movement, usually with variable body shape and size, growth not sharply restricted, usually restricted response, carbohdrates stored as plant starch

Animals

heterotrophic nutrition which requires complex synthesized food from plants or other animals, absence of cell wall and cellulose, highly mobile, invariable body form with definite number of body parts, restricted growth, usually responds to stimuli, carbohydrates stored as glycogen

Science

• guided by natural law

• explained by reference to natural law

• testable against observable worlds

• have tentative conclusions

• falsfiable

Hypothetic-deductive Method

scientific process of making a conjecture then seeks empirical tests that potentially lead to its rejection

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and The Chromasomal Theory of Inheritance

two major paradigms that guide zoological research

Steps to Scientific Method

1. Observation

2. Question

3. Hypothesis Formation

4. Empirical Test

5. Conclusions

6. Publications

Experimental Sciences

• Molecular Biology

• Cell Biology

• Endocrinlogy

• Developmental Biology

• Community Ecology