Organisms belonging to the phylum Platyhelminthes, such as flatworms, are used to study the effects of genes and the phylogeny of a species (evolutionary history of a species) based on morphological (form and structure) markers. Additional research topics relating to invertebrates are the cellular and molecular effects of heavy metal pollution and how molecular processes at the cellular level affect phenotypes (physical traits). Among the vertebrates, Drosophila melanogaster, known as the common fruit fly, is the subject of many molecular and genetic studies, including the development and evolution of morphology and genome studies.
Scientists and students have conducted studies on how animals use sensory information and adapt that information for their benefit. Research topics could include behavioral endocrinology in mammals, evolution and development of the vertebrate nervous system, development of circadian rhythms in mammals, the cellular transport of nerve impulses in Drosophila and decision-making systems in rodents. Additional topics include the motivation, communication and physiological processes underlying animal communication and the neuro-morphology of feeding systems of amphibians.
Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with their environment. Evolutionary zoology examines the evolutionary factors shaping the development and adaptations of zoological species. Topics for research papers in the ecological and evolutionary zoology fields could include: factors affecting the organization and stability of ecological systems, natural and man-made influences on ecosystems, aquatic parasitology, environmental toxicology in aquatic ecosystems, wetland ecology and restoration, geographical ecology of salamanders, the evolution of reproductive behavior in amphibians, and the ecological effects of land use on the breeding activities of amphibians.
Epidemiology is the study of the population dynamics of disease transmission. Research topics relating to the epidemiology of transmission of zoological diseases could include the pathology and epidemiology of amphibian diseases, the role of disease in declining amphibian populations, mosquito immunity to the malaria virus, mechanisms of parasitic virulence, and insect and tick vectors of human disease.