Zoologists may study the biochemistry or physiology of animals in the laboratory or, with the advent of automatic data loggers and transmitters carried by the animals, in their natural habitat. Other zoologists study animal behaviour, genetics or ecology. Ecologists study the numbers of and interactions between organisms at several levels. They may concentrate on the dynamics of populations of particular species or communities of interacting species. An understanding of community dynamics and how species interact is vital in fisheries and in the management of marine ecosystems.
Some marine ecologists investigate the movement of energy and molecules through ecosystems.
They may work from major cities or from remote field stations in studying animals on coral reefs, rocky shores, sandy beaches, mudflats, and in mangrove forests or in seagrass beds. They also work in the laboratory sorting and processing samples, which usually requires identifying, counting and measuring animals, and analysing and interpreting data with the aid of a computer. Mathematics, statistics and computer modelling continue to increase in importance as basic tools of the modern zoologist. The identification, classification, evolutionary relationships and geographic distributions of animals are important areas of zoological research often pursued in museums and universities. This can be challenging work both intellectually and technically.