ANIMAL BIOLOGY

• Main Author: Grove, Alfred John (Author)
• Other Authors: Newell, G. E. Gordon Ewart
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: London University Tutorial P. 1974
• Edition: NINTH EDITION
• Subjects: Zoology
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.

 Biology is the science which deals with the study of all the varied aspects of life or living organisms but is usually, because of its vastness, treated as two subjects, animal biology (zoology) and plant biology (botany). In practice both have undergone considerable fragmentation into many subsidiary branches, some of which are often considered to be sciences in their own right. This seems to be the inevitable result of increasing knowledge and specialisation and biology is not unique in this respect. Practically every other science has had a similar history. But fortunately it is still possible, at any rate up to a certain level, to maintain an essential unity in the study of animals whilst at the same time drawing information from all the biological sciences as well as from chemistry, physics, and geology. The same is true for botany. Animal biology takes account of the form and structure (morphology and anatomy) of the parts of animals; of microscopic anatomy (histology); of the mode of functioning of the parts (physiology); of the manner in which animals develop (embryology); and of links between one generation and the next (genetics). Of increasing importance is the study of animal behaviour and of the relations between animals and their environment (ecology), whilst new discoveries continue to be made in the study of inhabitants of the earth in past geological time (palaeontology). None of these categories are hard and fast ones and may best be thought of as pointing to differences of emphasis in the way of studying animals. All of them contribute information which is used in the naming and classifying of animals (taxonomy). Moreover, the list is not a complete one and could be greatly extended by the inclusion of less well-known but neverthe less important branches of the subject, some of which will be mentioned later. Living organisms, both plants and animals, are distinguished from dead material by their activities, so that it is essential from the beginning to have a general idea of what these vital activities are. They can be described under the headings of locomotion, nutrition, growth, respiration, excretion, sensitivity, and reproduction. All of these activities involve chemical changes, the sum total of which is termed metabolism. Many of these names are familiar but in biology some of them have a special meaning and require definition and explanation.