How animals live and why they live that way are questions addressed by zoologists. Most of the Australian fauna are poorly understood or not even formally named, yet informed management and resource use of Australia's flora, fauna and habitats depend upon zoological knowledge. We need to catalogue what species exist and how they survive in their natural environments. This requires knowledge of their physiology, breeding and reproductive systems, ecology, evolution and behaviour.

Students enrolled in zoology subjects can learn a diversity of topics, ranging from the structure and function of the cells that make up animals, through anatomy and physiology, reproduction and development, evolution, ecology and behaviour. This knowledge is important for biomedical research, agricultural and fisheries practices, the management of natural resources, environmental planning and for understanding the natural world.