Zoology is the scientific study of animal life.
The fundamental properties of life include:
- Chemical uniqueness. Living systems demonstrate a unique and complex molecular organization.
- Complexity and hierarchical organization. Living systems demonstrate a unique and complex hierarchical organization.
- Reproduction (heredity and variation). Living systems can reproduce themselves.
- Possession of a genetic program. A genetic program provides fidelity of inheritance.
- Metabolism. Living systems maintain themselves by acquiring nutrients from their environments.
- Development. All organisms pass through a characteristic life cycle.
- Environmental interaction. All animals interact with their environments.
- Movement. Living systems and their parts show precise and controlled movements arising from within the system.
The major paradigms that guide zoological research today are Darwin’s theory of evolution and the chromosomal theory of inheritance.
—July 2020
—May 2021
—April 2023
Lance Jones 