Importance of Studying Invertebrate Zoology

Importance of Invertebrate Zoology

• Studying invertebrate zoology is not practical for recreational hunting or sport fishing
• Invertebrates can be deadly to humans as parasites or vectors for serious human diseases

Characteristics of Invertebrates

• The largest living invertebrate is the lion's mane jellyfish
• Crabs have a leg span of up to 12 feet

Model Invertebrate Systems

• Model invertebrate systems play a potential role in understanding human diseases

Disease Vectors

• Mosquitoes are vectors for serious human diseases

Developmental Biology

• Observations of clumping amoebocytes in injured starfish larvae led to the field of study in developmental biology

Taxonomy

• Linnaeus's system for naming species is called binomial nomenclature
• The first word in binomial nomenclature names the genus
• The term for species having very large geographic ranges or worldwide distributions is cosmopolitan

Protozoa

• Unicellular eukaryotes (protozoa) are found in aquatic environments
• Protozoa play a crucial role in the economy of nature
• 50% of protozoa species are symbiotic in or on animals or plants
• Protozoa can live successfully in extreme environments, such as hot springs and Antarctic lakes

Species Adaptations

• The term for species adaptations that vary greatly as environmental conditions change is phenotypic plasticity
• The term for species with very restricted geographic distributions is endemics
• The term for the person who first describes a type specimen and publishes the name of a species is author