ZOOLOGY IS THE STUDY OF
EVERYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH
ANIMALS.
STUDENT: EVERYTHING?
CARTAN-HANSEN: YES, EVERYTHING,
AND FOR ALL KINDS OF ANIMALS.
ZOOLOGISTS, SCIENTISTS THAT
STUDY ANIMALS, LEARN ABOUT
THINGS LIKE ANIMALS' ANATOMY,
NUTRITION, WHAT THEY EAT,
CONSERVATION, ECOLOGY, WHERE
THEY LIVE, THE GENETICS, AND
CELLULAR BIOLOGY, EVERYTHING.
STUDENT: HOW DO THEY START?
CARTAN-HANSEN: WITH OBSERVATIONS
AND BY TAXONOMY, OR BY
CLASSIFICATION.
ALL LIVING THINGS ARE DIVIDED
INTO THREE DOMAINS, THEN FIVE
KINGDOMS, OF WHICH ANIMALS ARE
ONE.
EACH KINGDOM IS DIVIDED INTO
EVERSMALLER CATEGORIES OF
PHYLUM, CLASS, ORDER, FAMILY,
GENUS, AND SPECIES.
SPECIES ARE THEN DIVIDED UP
BASED ON PHYSICAL AND GENETIC
CHARACTERISTICS INTO SUBSPECIES.
TAKE YOUR PET DOG, A DOG BELONGS
TO THE ANIMALIA KINGDOM, THE
PHYLUM CHORDATA, THE CLASS
MAMMALIA, THE ORDER CARNIVORA,
THE FAMILY CANIDAE, THE GENUS
CANIS, THE SPECIES CANIS LUPUS,
AND THE SUBSPECIES CANIS LUPUS
FAMILIARIS.
STUDENT: WHY DO ZOOLOGISTS USE
SUCH FUNNY NAMES TO CLASSIFY
ANIMALS?
CARTAN-HANSEN: THE NAMES ARE IN
LATIN.
THE FIRST CLASSIFICATIONS WERE
MADE IN LATIN A LONG TIME AGO.
SCIENTISTS ACROSS THE WORLD, NO
MATTER WHAT LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK,
ALL USE LATIN TERMS TO CLASSIFY
SO THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE
TALKING ABOUT.
SCIENTISTS USE LATIN TO BE
PRECISE.
STUDENT: PRECISE?
CARTAN-HANSEN: YES.
WE CAN CALL THIS A CAT, OR THIS
A CAT, OR THIS A CAT.
BUT IF YOU WANT TO TELL THE
DIFFERENCE AND MAKE SURE
EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS, THEN YOU
NEED TO BE PRECISE OR EXACT.
SYSTEMATIC NAMING MAKES SURE
THAT THAT ONE SPECIES HAS ONE
NAME NO MATTER WHERE IN THE
WORLD IT CAN BE FOUND.
STUDENT: SO IS THAT ALL
ZOOLOGISTS DO?
CARTAN-HANSEN: NO.
ZOOLOGISTS HELP US UNDERSTAND
HOW ANIMALS LIVE IN OUR WORLD,
HOW THEY INTERACT WITH THE
ENVIRONMENT AND HOW ALL
CREATURES LIVE TOGETHER IN THE
NATURAL WORLD.
SOME ZOOLOGISTS SPECIALIZE IN
SPECIFIC TYPES OF ANIMALS.
FOR EXAMPLE, ARACHNOLOGY IS THE
STUDY OF SPIDERS.
ICHTHYOLOGY IS THE STUDY OF
FISH.
ORNITHOLOGY IS THE STUDY OF
BIRDS.
AND PALEOZOOLOGY IS THE STUDY OF
EXTINCT ANIMALS.
ZOOLOGISTS STUDY ANIMALS NOT
ONLY TO LEARN ABOUT THEM, BUT
SOMETIMES TO FIND OUT HOW TO
SAVE THEM.
CHARLES PETERSON IS A ZOOLOGIST
AT IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY.
HE STUDIES AMPHIBIANS.
HE AND A GRADUATE STUDENT ARE
LOOKING FOR FROGS AND WHERE THEY
LIVE.
HE KNOWS IF WE DON'T SAVE
CERTAIN TYPES OF WETLANDS, WE
WON'T BE ABLE TO SAVE CERTAIN
TYPES OF FROGS.
ZOOLOGISTS TRAVEL ALL OVER THE
WORLD TO STUDY ANIMALS, OR THEY
CAN STUDY RIGHT AT HOME.
ZOOLOGISTS ARE INVOLVED IN
ANIMAL CONSERVATION, SAVING
ANIMALS FROM EXTINCTION AND
IMPROVING THEIR ENVIRONMENTS.
THEY HELP US UNDERSTAND THE
BIODIVERSITY IN OUR WORLD, AND
THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE ANIMALS
HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON OUR LIVES.
THEY PROVIDE US WITH FOOD, WITH
FRIENDSHIP, AND A SENSE OF
WONDER.
SO ZOOLOGISTS HELP US UNDERSTAND
HOW LIFE WORKS ON OUR PLANET,
WHICH, IN TURN, HELPS US
UNDERSTAND HOW WE WORK IN OUR
WORLD.
STUDENT: THAT'S RIGHT BECAUSE,