The Many Jobs of Biologists B iology is the study of living things Biologists try to understand the natural world and the things that live in it These things include plants animals fungi protozoa algae bacteria and viruses The study of biology covers many areas It is usually divided into separate branches or fields Some biologists study anatomy or the structure of living things Some study ecology or how organisms interact with their environment In addition to general fields some branches of biology study This biologist is using a microscope to examine a sample in the laboratory 4
Ornithologists can track specific birds by putting numbered bands on their legs certain types of living things Some biologists study large groups such as all animals zoology or all plants botany Others study specific groups such as mammals mammalogy or birds ornithology Marine biologists study how many types of creatures interact in a specific environment the ocean Other biologists called paleontologists study creatures of the ancient past Conservation biologists look to the future and how life forms interact with Earth’s changing environment CO M PAR E AND CO NTRAST Which jobs in biology do you think are most similar Which do you think are most different Why 5
Study of Biology in History N o one knows exactly when humans first began to study biology Most biologists agree that it was thousands of years ago Many of today’s ideas started from the work of scientists who lived long ago For example a Greek philosopher named Aristotle may have been one of the first people to study sea life He lived from 384 BCE to 322 BCE Aristotle also set up a system of classification to group animals into categories or classes Early biologists did not have much equipment to help them in their studies Aristotle studied anatomy and many other branches of biology in ancient Greece 6
Many improvements have been made to microscopes and other magnifying devices since they were first used They had to rely on information they could gather with their own senses When biologists began using tools such as microscopes and binoculars they were able to learn more about plants animals and the environment For example microscopes helped biologists study creatures that are too small to be seen with the eye alone THIN K ABO UT IT What other effects do you think the invention of the microscope had on the study of biology 7
