The Zoology optional paper of UPSC involves the understanding of natural science subjects. The entire syllabus is divided into two papers of 250 marks each. This paper is excellent for students who have a background in medical and life sciences.
For students wondering what the actual UPSC Zoology syllabus is, below are the details!
Zoology Optional Paper 1 Syllabus
The topics included in the zoology optional paper 1 are:
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A. Non-Chordata and Chordata
- Classification and relationship of various phyla up to subclasses: Acoelomate and Coelomate, Protostomes and Deuterostomes, Bilateria and Radiata; Status of Protista, Parazoa, Onychophora and Hemichordata; Symmetry.
- Protozoa: Locomotion, nutrition, reproduction, sex; General features and life history of Paramaecium, Monocystis. Plasmodium and Leishmania.
- Porifera: Skeleton, canal system, and reproduction.
- Cnidaria: Polymorphism, defensive structures, and their mechanism; coral reefs and their formation; metagenesis; general features and life history of Obelia and Aurelia.
- Platyhelminthes: Parasitic adaptation; general features and life history of Fasciola and Taenia and their pathogenic symptoms.
- Nemathelminthes: General features, life history, a parasitic adaptation of Ascaris and Welshereria.
- Annelida: Coelom and metamerism; modes of life in polychaetes; general features and life history of Nereis, earthworm and leach.
- Arthropoda: Larval forms and parasitism in Crustacea; vision and respiration in arthropods (Prawn, cockroach, and scorpion); modification of mouth and parts in insects (cockroach, mosquito, housefly, honey bee, and butterfly); metamorphosis in insect and its hormonal regulation, social behavior of Apis and termites.
- Mollusks: Feeding, respiration, locomotion, general features and life history of Lamellidens, Pila, and Sepia. Torsion and detorsion in gastropods.
Some More Points
- Echinodermata: Feeding, respiration, locomotion, larval forms, general features, and life history of Asterias.
- Protochordata: Origin of chordates; general features and life history of Branchiostoma and Herdmania.
- Pisces: Respiration, locomotion, and migration.
- Amphibia: Origin of tetrapods, parental care, paedomorphosis.
- Reptilia: Origin of reptiles, skull types, status of Sphenodon and crocodiles.
- Aves: Origin of birds, flight adaptation, migration.
- Mammalia: Origin of mammals, dentition, general features of egg-laying mammals, pouched mammals, aquatic mammals and primates, endocrine glands pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pancreas, gonads) and their interrelationships.
- Comparative functional anatomy of various systems of vertebrates. (integument and its derivatives, endoskeleton, locomotory organs, digestive system, respiratory system, circulatory system including heart and aortic arches, urinogenital system, brain, and sense organs (eye and ear).
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B. Ecology
- Biosphere: the concept of biosphere; biomes, Biogeochemical cycles, Human induced changes in atmosphere including greenhouse effect, ecological succession, biomes and ecotones, community ecology.
- Concept of ecosystem: structure and function of ecosystem, ecosystem types, ecological succession, ecological adaptation.
- Population: characteristics, population dynamics, population stabilization.
- Biodiversity and diversity conservation of natural resources.
- Wildlife of India.
- Remote sensing for sustainable development.
- Environmental biodegradation; pollution and its impact on biosphere and its prevention.
C. Etiology
- Behavior: Sensory filtering, responsiveness, sign stimuli, learning, and memory, instinct, habituation, conditioning, imprinting.
- Role of hormones in drive; role of pheromones in alarm spreading; crypsis, predator detection, predator tactics, social hierarchies in primates, social organization in insects;
- Orientation, navigation, homing; biological rhythms: biological clock, tidal, seasonal, and circadian rhythms.
- Methods of studying animal behavior include sexual conflict, selfishness, kinship, and altruism.
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D. Economic Zoology
- Apiculture, sericulture, lac culture, carp culture, pearl culture, prawn culture, vermiculture.
- Major infectious and communicable diseases (malaria, filaria, tuberculosis, cholera, and AIDS), their vectors, pathogens, and prevention.
- Cattle and livestock diseases, their pathogen (helminths), and vectors (ticks, mites, Tabanus, Stomoxys).
- Pests of sugar cane (Pyrilla perpusiella), oil seed (Achaeajanata) and rice (Sitophilus oryzae).
- Transgenic animals.
- Medical biotechnology, human genetic disease, and genetic counseling, gene therapy.
- Forensic biotechnology.
E. Biostatistics
Designing of experiments; null hypothesis; correlation, regression, distribution and measure of central tendency, chi-square, student-test, F-test (one-way & two-way F-test).
F. Instrumentation Methods
- Spectrophotometer, phase contrast, and fluorescence microscopy, radioactive tracer, ultra centrifuge, gel. electrophoresis, PCR, ELISA, FISH, and chromosome painting.
- Electron microscopy (TEM, SEM).
Zoology Optional Paper 2 Syllabus
The syllabus of UPSC Zoology optional paper 2 includes the following:
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A. Cell Biology
- Structure and function of the cell and its organelles (nucleus, plasma membrane, mitochondria, Golgi bodies, endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes and lysosomes), cell division (mitosis and meiosis), mitotic spindle and mitotic apparatus, chromosome movement chromosome type polytene and lampbrush, organization of chromatin, heterochromatin, Cell cycle regulation.
- Nucleic acid topology, DNA motif, DNA replication, transcription, RNA processing, translation, protein foldings and transport.
B. Genetics:
- The modern concepts of the gene, split gene, genetic regulation, and genetic code.
- Sex chromosomes and their evolution, sex determination in Drosophila and humans.
- Mendel’s laws of inheritance, recombination, linkage, multiple alleles, genetics of blood groups, pedigree analysis, and hereditary diseases in humans.
- Mutations and mutagenesis.
- Recombinant DNA technology, plasmid, cosmid, artificial chromosomes as vectors, transgenics, DNA cloning, and whole animal cloning (principles and methods).
- Gene regulation and expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
- Signal molecules, cell death, defects in the signaling pathway, and consequences.
- RFLP, RAPD, and AFLF and application of RFLP in DNA finger-printing, ribozyme technologies, human genome project, genomics, and proteomics.
C. Evolution:
- Theories of the origin of life.
- Theories of evolution; Natural selection, role of mutation in evolution, evolutionary patterns, molecular drive, mimicry, variation, isolation, and speciation.
- Evolution of horses, elephants, and humans using fossil data.
- Hardy-Weinberg Law.
- Continental drift and distribution of animals.
D. Systematics:
Zoological nomenclature, international code, cladistics, molecular taxonomy, and biodiversity.
E. Biochemistry:
- Structure and role of carbohydrates, fats, fatty acids, cholesterol, proteins and amino acids, and nucleic acids. Bioenergetics.
- Glycolysis and Krebs cycle, oxidation and reduction, oxidative phosphorylation; energy conservation and release, ATP, cycle cyclic AMP- its structure and role.
- Hormone classification (steroid and peptide hormones), biosynthesis and functions.
- Enzymes: types and mechanisms of action.
- Vitamins and co-enzymes.
- Immunoglobulin and immunity.
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F. Physiology (with special reference to mammals):
- Composition and constituents of blood; blood groups and Rh factor in humans; factors and mechanism of coagulation; iron metabolism, acid-base balance, thermo regulation, anticoagulants.
- Hemoglobin: Composition, types, and role in transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
- Digestion and absorption: Role of salivary glands, liver, pancreas, and intestinal glands.
- Excretion: nephron and regulation of urine formation; osmoregulation and excretory product.
- Muscles: Types, mechanism of contraction of skeletal muscles, effects of exercise on muscles.
- Neuron: nerve impulse—its conduction and synaptic transmission; neurotransmitters
- Vision, hearing, and olfaction in humans.
- Physiology of reproduction, puberty, and menopause in humans.
7. Developmental Biology:
- Gametogenesis; spermatogenesis, the composition of semen, in vitro and in vivo capacitation of mammalian sperm, Oogenesis, totipotency; fertilization, morphogenesis and morphogen; blastogenesis, the establishment of body axes formation, fate map, gastrulation in frog and chick; genes in development in chick homeotic genes, development of eye and heart, placenta in mammals.
- Cell lineage, cell-to-cell interaction, Genetic and induced teratogenesis, the role of thyroxine in control of metamorphosis in amphibia, paedogenesis and neoteny, cell death, and aging.
- Developmental genes in humans, in vitro fertilization; and embryo transfer; cloning.
- Stem cells: Sources, types and their use in human welfare.
- Biogenetic law.
Conclusion
Students who wish to crack the Zoology optional exam with ease should make sure to study each topic in the syllabus thoroughly and also revise on a regular basis!
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