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Zoology Syllabus for UPSC: Zoology is one of the safest and most popularly chosen optional subjects in the UPSC Mains exam. It mainly focuses on ecology, ethology, economic zoology, cell biology, genetics, Evolution, etc. Moreover, the UPSC Zoology Syllabus PDF is static in nature and covers theoretical and applied Zoology. Scoring high in this subject plays a pivotal role in increasing the ranking of the aspirants.
Zoology is considered a science subject and thus many aspirants with science backgrounds opt for Zoology as their optional for the UPSC mains exam. Going by the past 5 years' statistics, approximately 40-50 candidates choose Zoology optional subject, and the success rate hovers around 12-14%.
Candidates must keep the Zoology Syllabus for UPSC handy when preparing for the civil service exam in order to cover all the topics in a comprehensive and detailed manner. According to the past UPSC exam analysis, it is reported that the difficulty level of the UPSC Zoology optional subjects was moderate in nature.
In this article, we have shared the UPSC Zoology Syllabus PDF for Mains, along with question weightage, preparation tips, and best books.
UPSC Zoology Syllabus PDF
The UPSC Zoology optional syllabus is divided into two papers, i.e., Paper 1 and Paper 2. The maximum mark for the UPSC Zoology subject is 500 marks, with each paper carrying 250 marks. Aspirants should thoroughly analyze the UPSC Zoology Syllabus PDF for Papers 1 and 2 to cover the exam-relevant topics with proper time management and a constructive approach. Download the topic-wise UPSC Zoology Syllabus PDF for papers 1 and 2 tabulated below.
| UPSC IAS Zoology Syllabus 2023 |
UPSC Zoology Optional Syllabus For IAS Mains
The UPSC Zoology Optional Syllabus consists of two papers, i.e., Paper 1 and Paper 2. Aspirants should examine the topic-wise UPSC Zoology syllabus for main optional papers 1 and 2 and then commence their preparation accordingly.
UPSC Zoology Syllabus for Paper 1
The UPSC Zoology Paper I syllabus covers topics like Non-Chordata and Chordata, Ecology, Ethology, Economic Zoology, Biostatistics, Instrumentation Methods, etc. Check the topic-wise UPSC Zoology Optional Syllabus for Paper I below.
- Non-chordata and Chordata :
(a) 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.
(b) Protozoa: Locomotion, nutrition, reproduction, sex; General features and life history of Paramaecium, Monocystis. Plasmodium and Leishmania.
(c) Porifera: Skeleton, canal system and reproduction.
(d) Cnidaria: Polymorphism, defensive structures and their mechanism; coral reefs and their formation; metagenesis; general features and life history of Obelia and Aurelia.
(e) Platyhelminthes: Parasitic adaptation; general features and life history of Fasciola and Taenia and their pathogenic symptoms.
(f) Nemathelminthes: General features, life history, parasitic adaptation of Ascaris and Welshereria.
(g) Annelida: Coelom and metamerism; modes of life in polychaetes; general features and life history of Nereis, earthworm and leach.
(h) Arthropoda: Larval forms and parasitism in Crustacea; vision and respiration in arthropods (Prawn, cockroach and scorpion); modification of mouth, parts in insects (cockroach, mosquito, housefly, honey bee and butterfly), metamorphosis in insect and its hormonal regulation, social behaviour of Apis and termites.
(i) Molluscs: Feeding, respiration, locomotion, general features and life history of Lamellidens, Pila and Sepia. Torsion and detorsion in gastropods.
(j) Echinodermata: Feeding, respiration, locomotion, larval forms, general features and life history of Asterias.
(k) Protochordata: Origin of chordates; general features and life history of Branchiostoma and Herdmania.
(l) Pisces: Respiration, locomotion and migration.
(m) Amphibia: Origin of tetrapods, parental care, paedomorphosis.
(n) Reptilia; Origin of reptiles, skull types, status of Sphenodon and crocodiles.
(o) Aves: Origin of birds, flight adaptation, migration.
(p) 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.
(q) 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).
- Ecology:
(a) Biosphere: concept of biosphere; biomes, Biogeochemical cycles, Human induced changes in atmosphere including green house effect, ecological succession, biomes and ecotones, community ecology.
(b) Concept of ecosystem; structure and function of ecosystem, types of ecosystem, ecological succession, ecological adaptation.
(c) Population; characteristics, population dynamics, population stabilization.
(d) Biodiversity and diversity conservation of natural resources.
(e) Wildlife of India.
(f) Remote sensing for sustainable development.
(g) Environmental biodegradation; pollution and its impact on biosphere and its prevention.
- Ethology :
(a) Behaviour: Sensory filtering, responsiveness, sign stimuli, learning, and memory, instinct, habituation, conditioning, imprinting.
(b) Role of hormones in drive; the role of pheromones in alarm spreading; crypsis, predator detection, predator tactics, social hierarchies in primates, social organization in insects;
(c) Orientation, navigation, homing; biological rhythms: biological clock, tidal, seasonal and circadian rhythms.
(d) Methods of studying animal behaviour including sexual conflict, selfishness, kinship and altruism.
- Economic Zoology :
(a) Apiculture, sericulture, lac culture, carp culture, pearl culture, prawn culture, vermiculture.
(b) Major infectious and communicable diseases (malaria, filaria, tuberculosis, cholera and AIDS) their vectors, pathogens and prevention.
(c) Cattle and livestock diseases, their pathogen (helminths) and vectors (ticks, mites, Tabanus, Stomoxys).
(d) Pests of sugar cane (Pyrilla perpusiella), oil seed (Achaeajanata) and rice (Sitophilus oryzae).
(e) Transgenic animals
(f) Medical biotechnology, human genetic disease and genetic counselling, gene therapy.
(g) Forensic biotechnology.
- 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).
- Instrumentation methods :
(a) Spectrophotometer, phase contrast and fluorescence microscopy, radioactive tracer, ultra centrifuge,
gel. electrophoresis, PCR, ELISA, FISH and chromosome painting.
(b) Electron microscopy (TEM, SEM)
UPSC Zoology Syllabus for Paper 2
The UPSC Zoology Paper II Syllabus focuses on topics like Cell Biology, Genetics, Evolution, Systematics, Biochemistry, Physiology (with special reference to mammals), and Developmental Biology. Check the topic-wise UPSC Zoology Optional Syllabus PDF for Paper II below.
- Cell Biology:
(a) 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.
(b) Nucleic acid topology, DNA motif, DNA replication, transcription, RNA processing, translation, protein foldings and transport.
- Genetics:
(a) Modern concept of the gene, split gene, genetic regulation, genetic, code.
(b) Sex chromosomes and their evolution, sex determination in Drosophila and human.
(c) Mendel’s laws of inheritance, recombination, linkage, multiple alleles, genetics of blood groups, pedigree analysis, and hereditary diseases in humans.
(d) Mutations and mutagenesis.
(e) Recombinant DNA technology, plasmid, cosmid, artificial chromosomes as vectors, transgenics, DNA cloning and whole animal cloning (principles and methods).
(f) Gene regulation and expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
(g) Signal molecules, cell death, defects in signalling pathway and consequences.
(h) RFLP, RAPD and AFLF and application of RFLP in DNA finger-printing, ribozyme technologies, human genome project, genomics and proteomics.
- Evolution:
(a) Theories of origin of life.
(b) Theories of evolution; Natural selection, role of mutation in evolution, evolutionary patterns, molecular drive, mimicry, variation, isolation and speciation.
(c) Evolution of horse, elephant and human using fossil data.
(d) Hardy-Weinberg Law.
(e) Continental drift and distribution of animals.
- Systematics:
Zoological nomenclature, international code, cladistics, molecular taxonomy and biodiversity.
- Biochemistry :
(a) Structure and role of carbohydrates, fats, fatty acids, cholesterol, proteins and amino-acids, and nucleic acids. Bioenergetics.
(b) Glycolysis and Krebs cycle, oxidation and reduction, oxidative phosphorylation; energy conservation and release, ATP, cyclic AMP- its structure and role.
(c) Hormone classification (steroid and peptide hormones), biosynthesis and functions.
(d) Enzymes: types and mechanisms of action.
(e) Vitamins and co-enzymes.
(f) Immunoglobulin and immunity.
- Physiology (with special reference to mammals) :
(a) Composition and constituents of blood; blood groups and Rh factor in human; factors and mechanism of coagulation; iron metabolism, acid-base balance, thermo regulation, anticoagulants.
(b) Haemoglobin: Composition, types and role in transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
(c) Digestion and absorption: Role of salivary glands, liver, pancreas and intestinal glands.
(d) Excretion: nephron and regulation of urine formation; osmo-regulation and excretory product.
(e) Muscles: Types, mechanism of contraction of skeletal muscles, effects of exercise on muscles.
(f) Neuron: nerve impulse—its conduction and synaptic transmission; neurotransmitters.
(g) Vision, hearing and olfaction in human.
(h) Physiology of reproduction puberty and menopause in human.
- Developmental Biology:
(a) Gametogenesis; spermatogenesis, composition of semen, in vitro and in vivo capacitation of mammalian sperm, Oogenesis, totipotency; fertilization, morphogenesis and morphogen; blastogenesis, establishment of body axes formation, fate map, gestulation in frog and chick; genes in development in chick homeotic genes, development of eye and heart, placenta in mammals.
(b) Cell lineage, cell to cell interaction, Genetic and induced teratogenesis, role of thyroxine in control of metamorphosis in amphibia, paedogenesis and neoteny, cell death, aging.
(c) Developmental genes in humans, in vitro fertilization; and embryo transfer; cloning.
(d) Stem cells: Sources, types and their use in human welfare.
(e) Biogenetic law.
How to Prepare the UPSC Zoology Syllabus 2023?
Aspirants must be well-acquainted with the UPSC Zoology syllabus and then build the preparation strategy. This will help them grasp the fundamentals and core topics important for the exam. As the UPSC Zoology optional syllabus is vast, aspirants should keep in mind a few points when preparing for the civil services mains exam.
- Analyze the UPSC Zoology optional syllabus thoroughly and categorize the topics from easy to complex. This will help them to cover the syllabus in a decided time.
- Choose the finest books and study resources to prepare adequately for the exam.
- Memorize all the important conventions, policies, and summits associated with zoology to write detailed answers with proper examples in the exam.
- Solve UPSC Zoology's previous year's question paper to understand the trending topics and question weightage asked over the years.
- Practice answer writing skills after covering the Zoology syllabus for UPSC and include diagrams and bullet points in the answers wherever required.
Booklist for UPSC Zoology Optional Syllabus
Aspirants must commence their preparation for the UPSC Zoology optional subject with basic books to strengthen their foundation. Once they gain conceptual clarity, they should pick advanced topics for the preparation. his will help them to focus on exam-relevant topics prescribed in the UPSC Zoology Optional Syllabus. Some of the best UPSC Zoology Optional books are as follows.
- Modern Zoology by Ramesh Gupta
- An Introduction to Embryology by AK Berry
- Ecology And Environment by PD Sharma
- Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry by David Nelson, Michael Cox
- An Introduction to Embryology by AK Berry
- Ecology And Environment by PD Sharma
- Applied And Economic Zoology by VB Upadhyay and GS Shukla
- Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry by David Nelson, Michael Cox
- Animal Behaviour by Reena Mathur
- Modern Textbook Of Zoology: Vertebrates by RL Kotpal
- Applied And Economic Zoology by VB Upadhyay and GS Shukla
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