There are many summer research opportunities for college students or even high school students to become involved with animal behavior research in the laboratory or in the field. These programs often provide the first serious exposure to animal behavior research for many students. Animal behavior is exciting for many reasons, but especially because it is such an integrative discipline. Also, it allows the researcher to work closely with animals, usually in the field, and thus to fully appreciate the intricacy of organisms. Studies of animal behavior are increasingly important to society because they are crucial for understanding how to preserve species in the face of the continuing negative impact of human activities on the biosphere.
Behavioral studies are central to conservation biology.
Animal behavior studies have made other less direct but nonetheless important contributions to society. For example, studies of how young birds learn and develop their songs provide unique insights into the development and neural control of speech in humans. Schedules and activities differ as much as the kinds of animals studied and the kinds of questions asked of those animals. By contrast, scientists conducting their behavioral studies in the laboratory may follow a more traditional 9 to 5 workday. A scientist studying animal behavior may find himself or herself working hip deep in a swamp watching birds with binoculars one day and then dressed in a suit and tie lecturing to students the next day.