BIO309: Zoology

Unit 1: Introduction to ZoologyWhat is zoology? How does it fit into the large field of biology? In
this unit, we will work to answer these questions. The unit will also
review the anatomy of animal cells and how they are unique.

Unit 1 Time AdvisoryTime Advisory: This unit will take you 10 hours to complete.

☐ Subunit 1.1: 8 hours☐ Introductory Readings: 6 hours

☐ Subunit 1.1.3: 2 hours

☐ Subunit 1.2: 2 hours

Unit1 Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

recognize a few major figures in the development of the field of
zoology;

identify the fundamentals of animal-dispersal patterns;

list different time scales, identify fossil types, and explain the
ways in which a study of these time scales and fossils illuminates
our understanding of evolution; and

distinguish between plants and animals in terms of their cellular
differences and similarities.

Instructions: Scroll down to item 22 under “Academic Stream Books,”
and click on the English link to download the PDF file. Read Units
3-5 on pages 104-220 in their entirety. You may want to save the PDF
file to your desk top for easy access as you will return to this
text throughout the course.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpages above.

1.1.1 A Subdivision of BiologyNote: This topic is covered by the readings beneath subunit 1.1.

1.1.2 Subdivisions of ZoologyNote: This topic is covered by the reading beneath subunit 1.1.

1.1.2.1 Morphology/AnatomyNote: This topic is covered by the reading below subunit 1.1.2.

1.1.2.2 TaxonomyNote: This topic is covered in more detail in subunit 2.2.

1.1.2.3 PhysiologyNote: This topic is covered in more detail in Unit 3.

1.1.2.4 EmbryologyNote: This topic is covered by the reading below subunit 1.1.2

1.1.2.5 GeneticsNote: This topic is covered by the reading below subunit 1.1.2

1.1.3 Zoology and Other Fields1.1.3.1 Zoogeography
- Reading: University of British Columbia: Jill Jankowski’s
“Introduction to Biogeography”
Link: University of British Columbia: Jill Jankowski’s
“Introduction to
Biogeography”
(PDF)

Instructions: Read these lecture notes for a general overview of
biogeography. Cross-disciplinary sciences have attracted a lot of
attention and support in recent years through a convergence of
academic perspectives that provide us with a fuller understanding of
our interconnected and interdependent world. In this section, we
will learn about two prominent cross-disciplinary fields that rely
on a zoological analysis of the Earth’s history, beginning with
zoogeography and then moving on to paleozoology. In zoogeography, we
study patterns of the past, present, and future geographical
distribution of animals in nature and the processes that regulate
these distributions. In other words, its the scientific analysis of
the spatial and termporal patterns of biodiversity.

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Instructions: Read the sections “Paleobiology” and “The Geologic
Time Scale.” Paleozoology is the study and analysis of animal
remains, often recovered from archaeological and paleontological
excavations.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Look over this figure of an animal cell to understand
its structure and organelles. You may choose to click on the links
to each organelle to refresh your memory about their functions (but
doing so is optional). When you look at an organism, how do you know
whether it is an “animal” and not a fungus or protist or plant?
Although this may seem simple, some organisms, like sponges and
bryozoans, are not at all easy to classify as animals based on their
looks alone. According to scientists, the only way to conclusively
determine whether an organism is an animal is to confirm the absence
of a cell wall. (Animal cells are enclosed by a flexible cell
membrane rather than a cell wall).

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

1.2.1 Unique Characteristics of the Animal CellNote: This topic is covered by the reading beneath subunit 1.2

1.2.2 Anatomy of the Animal CellNote: This topic is covered by the reading beneath subunit 1.2