Zoology: Understanding the Animal World

Get a solid foundation for all the terms and concepts you’ll encounter throughout this series. Discover what zoologists do (it’s much more than running zoos); take a close look at the phylogenic tree (the tree of life); and examine the definition of terms like species, natural selection, and conservation.

In this episode, explore the diversity of reproductive biology and sex in the animal kingdom. Along the way, you’ll cover topics including asexual and sexual reproduction, sexual behaviors in different animal groups, and some of the strangest sexual behavior in the animal kingdom: reproduction outside an animal’s body.

One goal of zoology is to help save the world’s endangered species by ensuring their ability to reproduce. Here, Dr. Moore, along with insights from two research biologists, reveals how reproductive scientists are working to help save giant pandas and cheetahs from extinction.

Why is parenting so essential to a species’ survival? Why do some animals have different parenting styles? Here, explore different parenting styles in everything from corals to salmon to humans. Then, encounter one of the most unique examples of parental care in mammals: the golden lion tamarin.

Marine invertebrates are some of the most economically important animals on the planet. Learn more about them in this episode on invertebrate “good guys” including mollusks (the largest phylum of marine animals), blue crabs, the American lobster, and corals (which surpass tropical rainforests in their levels of biodiversity).

There are more than 1 million species of insects on our planet. That's over half of all known extant species. In this episode, explore adaptations of some of the most important insects on our planet, including ants, bees, and butterflies. Also, focus on key conservation issues like colony collapse and pollinator conservation.

What are the real effects of mosquitos, biting flies, and internal parasites on humans? Why are they so important to our planet? What makes mosquitos the deadliest animals on Earth? How do zoologists classify the parasites that infect humans? What happens in a zoo’s veterinary pathology department?

Here, Dr. Moore offers an up-close encounter with some of the most interesting animals on our planet: fishes. You’ll examine the specific conservation needs of rays, sharks, and bony fishes; learn how fishes achieve buoyancy and how their gills work; explore how fishes adapt to cold, salty waters; and more.

About 350 million years ago, large amphibians were Earth’s most abundant species. Now, their future may be in jeopardy. Join Dr. Moore and a biologist from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for an eye-opening episode on amphibian biology and diversity and the ways we can help salamanders, frogs, and other species thrive.

Reptiles combine primitive, advanced, generalized, and specialized adaptations for life on earth. First, examine the characteristics reptiles share with birds. Then, examine fascinating reptilian adaptations like parthenogenesis and temperature-dependent sex determination. Finally, learn ways you can help reptiles like snakes, turtles, lizards, and crocodilians survive.

From kingfishers to penguins to vultures, dive into the science of ornithology, the study of our planet’s birds. Along the way, you’ll encounter topics like the amazing adaptations of bills; the evolution of birds of prey; and the relationship between shorebird migration and the egg-laying season for horseshoe crabs.

Variations in bird reproduction allow birds to survive everywhere from rainforest canopies to Antarctica. Explore the intricacies of bird breeding, nesting, and chick-raising adaptations. Topics include mating behavior, nest formation, the ways chicks are built to survive, and ways we can help birds thrive on our planet.

One of the most interesting events in the animal kingdom is bird migration by flight. What are the physics of bird flight? Why have some of the world’s most interesting birds, like penguins and ostriches, lost the ability to fly? Do wings serve a purpose other than flight? Find out here.

Today, there are more than 5,000 species of mammals assembled in 26 orders and dozens of families. In the first of several episodes on mammalian life, investigate the two traits that make mammals unique from other animals: hair and milk. (And yes, even dolphins possess some form of hair!)

Focus now on two types of herbivorous mammals. The first are ruminants: animals like cows and camels who rely on foregut fermentation and four-chambered stomachs to digest plants. The second are runners like horses and oryx, who’ve developed musculoskeletal adaptations to help them jump and escape predators.

Turn now from herbivores to carnivores like lions, tigers, bears, wolves, cats, and dogs. Among the many insights you’ll learn are the different ways carnivores evolved to walk and capture prey, as well as their evolutionary history, which stretches back to tree-dwelling animals that lived 50 and 60 million years ago.

Gain a greater appreciation for the characteristics of primates: their longer lifespans, omnivorous diets, larger brains, and (the only trait they all have in common) inner ears. To get a better sense of primate diversity, you’ll focus on a New World monkey (the golden lion tamarin) and a great ape (the gorilla).

Explore how an animal’s size helps it thrive. Look at allometric scaling (which helps explain diverse characteristics, like why smaller animals like mice have faster breathing and heart rates than the enormous elephant), why invertebrates are much smaller on average than vertebrates, and how bioenergetics - how animals obtain and use fuel - helps us understand animal survival.

From jellyfish to sea lions, every animal on Earth has solved the challenges of movement, protection, and homeostasis in its own way. Dr. Moore covers the diversity of adaptations that animals have developed, including scales, feathers, hair, beaks, horns, and different skeletal structures (axial and appendicular).

Every living thing gets its energy in one of three ways: as a producer, a consumer, or a decomposer. Central to this episode on animal energetics (including metabolism and digestion) is the giant panda, whose carnivorous physiology and plant-based diet make it one of the most inefficient feeders on our planet.

How do zoologists study animal behavior? How does it help them become better caretakers and conservationists? First, examine how the modern approach to studying animal behavior emerged. Then, learn how objective behavioral studies in natural conditions work. Finally, explore Dr. Moore’s own observations of the Pampas deer of South America.

Zoologists study animal intelligence using a combination of ethology, psychology, and neuroscience. In this episode, look at the behavior of different animals (the use of tools by animals as diverse as otters and elephants, social learning in primates and dolphins, the famous story of a “counting” horse) to determine whether or not animals think.

Around 75% of new or emerging infectious human diseases are spread from animals. Examine zoonotic diseases, which are spread between humans and animals and caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi. Also, consider how diseases (like canine distemper virus) threaten animals in zoos and in nature.

Every day, zoologists around the world are asked questions about the future of animal species. What’s the biggest threat to wildlife? Why are scientists freezing animal tissues? Why do we still know so little about animal life? Have there been successes in conservation? In this “FAQ”-style episode, get some answers.