--- title: Zoology & Animal Science description: Zoology and animal science focus on the biology, physiology, behavior, and classification of animals. Learners will understand animal anatomy, evolutionary adaptations, ecological roles, and the principles of animal management and conservation. category: sciences subcategory: biology difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/zoology-and-animal-science --- # Zoology & Animal Science Zoology and animal science focus on the biology, physiology, behavior, and classification of animals. Learners will understand animal anatomy, evolutionary adaptations, ecological roles, and the principles of animal management and conservation. ## Available Resources 4 Books • 2 Courses • 4 Websites ## Courses ### 1. Animal Behavior (MIT 9.20) **Author:** Gerald E. Schneider Approaches to studying animal behavior, starting with classical ethology and moving to sociobiology, drawing on readings from Scott and Alcock. 25 recorded lectures, slide notes and written assignments explain instinct, learning, communication and the evolution of social behavior. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/9-20-animal-behavior-fall-2013/ **Tags:** animal-behavior, ethology, sociobiology, behavioral-evolution ### 2. Animal Behaviour and Welfare Animal welfare has been described as a complex, multi-faceted public policy issue which includes important scientific, ethical, and other dimensions. Improving our understanding of animal welfare, involves the fascinating study of animal behaviour as well as the challenge of accessing the emotions of animals. This is the On-Demand version of this course, which means you can start the course at any time and work through the course materials at your own pace. The materials and quizzes will always be available to you. Learners can apply for Financial Aid directly with Coursera to assist with the cost of accessing the full course and gaining a certificate for successfully completing the course. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/animal-welfare **Tags:** animal-welfare, animal-behaviour, ethology, veterinary-science ## Websites ### 1. Encyclopedia of Life Open biodiversity database aggregating species pages for millions of organisms, pulling text, images, traits and distribution data from museums, journals and partner institutions. Useful for checking a species' classification, measured traits and documented ecology in one place. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://eol.org/ **Tags:** biodiversity, taxonomy, species-database, zoology ### 2. iNaturalist Observation platform where users post photos of wild organisms and the community, aided by computer vision, confirms identifications. Records that reach research grade feed GBIF. Participants build field identification skill and contribute verifiable occurrence data to biodiversity science. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.inaturalist.org/ **Tags:** citizen-science, species-identification, biodiversity, field-observation ### 3. animaldiversity.org Animal Diversity Web is an online encyclopedia of animal natural history that provides detailed species accounts on distribution, biology, behavior, and conservation. It includes photos, range maps, and multimedia contributed by researchers and educators, making it a valuable resource for learning zoology and animal science. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://animaldiversity.org **Tags:** websites, science-research, biology ### 4. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The IUCN's global database of species extinction risk, compiled from expert assessments. Species pages give taxonomy, range, population trends, threats and conservation actions, with search and data downloads. Users can look up a species' threat category and understand the evidence behind it. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://iucnredlist.org **Tags:** conservation-status, endangered-species, extinction-risk, biodiversity, species-assessment ## Books ### 1. Integrated Principles of Zoology **Author:** Cleveland P. Hickman Jr., Larry S. Roberts, Allan Larson, Helen I'Anson, David J. Eisenhour A comprehensive undergraduate zoology textbook covering animal cell biology, genetics, evolution, and the anatomy, physiology, and ecology of each major phylum. Readers finish able to place any animal group within vertebrate and invertebrate phylogeny and explain its body plan. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071115943?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, science-research, biology ### 2. Animal Behavior **Author:** Dustin R. Rubenstein, John Alcock The standard undergraduate ethology textbook, organized around adaptation and natural selection. Covers neural and hormonal control of behaviour, foraging, communication, mating systems, and social evolution, so readers can frame a behaviour as a testable proximate or ultimate question. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1605355488?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, science-research, biology ### 3. Vertebrates **Author:** Kenneth V. Kardong Upper-level comparative anatomy text organizing vertebrate groups phylogenetically and treating each organ system's structure alongside its function and evolutionary history. Readers come away able to explain why a skeletal or muscular feature took the form it did. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/007115356X?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, science-research, biology ### 4. Animal Physiology **Author:** Richard W. Hill, Gordon A. Wyse, Margaret Anderson Comparative physiology across the animal kingdom, covering respiration, circulation, thermoregulation, osmoregulation, and neural control alongside their ecological and evolutionary context. Prepares readers to compare how different species solve the same physiological problem under different environmental pressures. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0878935592?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** comparative-physiology, animal-physiology, thermoregulation, osmoregulation, evolutionary-physiology --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/zoology-and-animal-science