tZOOLOGY
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What is Zoology about?
Zoology is a study of animals in all its facets. At primary and secondary school level aspects of Zoology are dealt within the popular subject of Biology. Zoology is a living and dynamic subject and the biggest appeal of the subject is that we are working with living organisms around us. But why study Zoology? It is of crucial importance that we study animals that share the planet with us. On the one hand we are dependent on animals and on the other we have to compete with hordes of others. We are dependent on animals as a source of food, as companions in the form of pets and as a source of labour. We have to compete with various animals that threaten our food sources or parasitize man and his live-stock.
Studying Zoology provides the opportunity to work out in the open with animals in their natural environment. The latest estimate is that there are between 30 and 100 million animal species on our planet. As we as man form part of a delicate ecosystem we need to understand how this ecosystem functions. This enables us to better understand our origins and functioning.
At university-level students are introduced to the whole spectrum of the animal kingdom from the smallest protozoans to the largest mammals. In your first year of Zoology you will study more than 150 animal species. You will not only study the anatomy of these animals but also how these animals interact with each other and with their environment. The knowledge and principles mastered in a particular year serve as a foundation upon which the next year is built. Upon completion of the B.Sc. degree the student will be equipped to apply for a job or to continue with a masters degree in Environmental Sciences. Visit the school's web site for more information on this popular degree.
Zoology is typically a subject where your interest will grow the more you learn about it. Studying Zoology will equip you for a wide variety of employment opportunities and career choices.
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Careers in Zoology
Zoologists are needed in a wide range of areas. Some of these include:
- Agriculture (universities, technicons, parks boards, research councils, national government, provincial government, municipalities etc.)
- Biosystematics (universities, technicons, parks boards, research councils etc.)
- Ecology (universities, technicons, parks boards, research councils, non-governmental organisations etc.)
- Ecotoxicology (universities, technicons, chemical companies, chemical consultancies etc.)
- Education (both secondary and tertiary)
- Environmental management (universities, technicons, parks boards, research councils, small and large companies etc.)
- Epidemiology (universities, technicons, parks boards, research councils national government, provincial government, municipalities etc.)
- Fresh water and marine research (universities, technicons, parks boards, research councils, national government, provincial government etc.)
- Natural history museums
- Nature conservation (universities, technicons, parks boards, research councils, consultants etc.)
- Parasitology (universities, technicons, parks boards, research councils, etc.)
- Pest control (universities, technicons, parks boards, research councils agricultural and chemical industry etc.)
- Taxidermy
- Veterinary Science (universities, technicons, parks boards, research councils etc.)
- Zoological research (universities, technicons, parks boards, research councils, non-governmental organisations etc.)
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History of Zoology at the PUK
The Department Zoology and Botany at the Potchefstroom University was founded in 1920 and had a humble start in the stable of what used to be the presidents residence, currently the Presidential Museum.
The first head of the Department was Prof. G.T.S. Eiselen.
Only 17 years later a second person, Mrs. C.M. de Vos was appointed.
The Department grew steadily and in 1958 the Institute for Zoological Research was founded within the Department with Prof. J.A. van Eeden in charge. When Prof. Van Eeden took over as head of Department from Prof. Eiselen, Prof. P.A.J Ryke took over as Director of the Research Institute. Over the next number of years the Research Institute and department expanded meteorically.
The research focussed on soil fauna and acarology, limnology and freshwater snail biology. In this period the National Freshwater Snail Collection was founded. This collection currently houses more than 70 000 samples containing freshwater snails. After major restructuring in 1998, Zoology was incorporated into the School of Environmental Sciences and Development, presently housed in the J.S. van der Merwe building.
Since the founding of the department no less than 562 scientific papers were published by staff of the Department.
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Focus of Zoology at the PUK
Within the School of Environmental Sciences and Development research is focussed in three main focus areas namely
- Ecological remediation and sustainable utilisation.
- Biodiversity and conservation biology.
- Water Science and management.
Within each of these focus areas Zoology plays a very important role and together with subjects like Botany, Geology, Microbiology and Town and Regional Planning, serve as the foundation on which the school rests.
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Contact details
Zoology
School of Environmental Sciences and Development
North-West University
Potchefstroom Campus
Private Bag X6001
Potchefstroom 2520
South Africa
Tel: +27 18 299 2493
Fax: +27 18 299 2503
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