Summary
Zoology is the scientific study of animals, encompassing their diversity, anatomy, physiology, behaviour, ecology and evolution. It ranges from molecular and cellular investigations of physiological processes to whole-organism analyses of form and function, and extends to population-level and ecosystem-level studies of species interactions and environmental adaptation. Key subdisciplines include taxonomy and systematics, which classify and name species; comparative anatomy and developmental biology, which elucidate structural and ontogenetic patterns; neurobiology and endocrinology, which explore sensory integration and hormonal control; behavioural ecology, which examines how animals respond to internal and external stimuli; and conservation biology, which addresses biodiversity loss and habitat preservation. Modern zoology integrates field observations, experimental manipulations, imaging technologies, genomics and computational modelling to reveal how animals have evolved solutions to ecological challenges and how they will respond to global change.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent work has uncovered the genetic basis of migratory direction in a small songbird hybrid zone, demonstrating that two interacting loci explain the majority of variation in flight orientation without imposing severe fitness costs on hybrids. Complementary studies in a partially migratory blackbird have shown that migrants pre-emptively lower resting heart rate and body temperature in the weeks before departure, offsetting the energetic demands of long flights and revealing distinct metabolic programmes despite similar overall energy expenditure. In insects, analyses of dragonfly assemblages across seasonal flight periods have revealed darker colour morphs in early- and late-season cohorts, supporting the Thermal Melanism Hypothesis and suggesting that shifts in pigmentation optimise heat absorption and phenological timing in cooler conditions.
Topic trend for the past 5 years
The graph below shows the article count in Nature Index journals for zoology.
* The ‘Current Index’ represents data for a 12-month rolling window, the current window is 1 May 2025 - 30 April 2026.
Technical terms
Epistatic interaction: A genetic phenomenon in which the effect of one gene is modified by one or more other genes.
Partial migration: A strategy within a population in which some individuals migrate while others remain resident.
Thermal melanism: Increased dark pigmentation in ectotherms to enhance solar heat absorption and aid thermoregulation in cooler environments.
Phenology: The seasonal timing of life-history events, such as migration, breeding and emergence.
Temporal isolation: A reproductive barrier arising from differences in the timing of breeding or migration between populations or subspecies.
Gut microbiota: The community of microorganisms inhabiting the digestive tract, which influence host nutrition, immunity and physiology.
Notable articles in zoology
- Structural basis of odor sensing by insect heteromeric odorant receptors. Science (2024).
- Molecular Architecture of the Mouse Nervous System. Cell (2018).
- Microglia Sculpt Postnatal Neural Circuits in an Activity and Complement-Dependent Manner. Neuron (2012).
- Unbiased classification of sensory neuron types by large-scale single-cell RNA sequencing. Nature Neuroscience (2014).
- Evidence for a role of Anopheles stephensi in the spread of drug- and diagnosis-resistant malaria in Africa. Nature Medicine (2023).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Research
Position of Zoology in Nature Index by Count
Leading institutions
| Institution | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard University | 94 | 37.79 |
| Max Planck Society | 126 | 31.2 |
| Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) | 109 | 29.66 |
| Yale University | 53 | 26.2 |
| Johns Hopkins University (JHU) | 46 | 24.96 |
| Stanford University | 56 | 22.87 |
| University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) | 43 | 19.59 |
| French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) | 145 | 19.3 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York (CU) | 48 | 19.3 |
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | 44 | 17.27 |
Leading countries/territories
| Countries/territories | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| United States of America (USA) | 906 | 679.12 |
| China | 354 | 273.09 |
| Germany | 293 | 146.76 |
| United Kingdom (UK) | 250 | 113.7 |
| Japan | 143 | 95.31 |
| France | 170 | 73.36 |
| Canada | 117 | 51.48 |
| Switzerland | 108 | 45.53 |
| Italy | 68 | 26.68 |
| South Korea | 40 | 24.77 |
Collaboration
Top 5 leading collaborators in Zoology
Collaborating institutions
Note: Hover over the bars to view details about each institution's Share.
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