Ruth Gustafson
Student Services
Student Services and Researcher Services Librarian
530-752-1883
by Ruth Gustafson – February 7, 2022
This guide lists resources related to animal science and wildlife biology which are useful for locating literature across a range of topics including: anatomy and physiology, behavior, breeding and reproduction, genetics, and systematics and taxonomy. To access licensed library resources from off-campus, please use the library VPN. Ruth is happy to help if you have questions or need additional assistance.
FOR UCD students, faculty, and staff: With the re-opening of campus on Jan 31, 2022, feel free to book an appointment with Ruth for assistance in using these resources or for any questions you may have. Ruth will continue with Zoom appointments. (Exceptions will be made if in-person is the only/best option for the requestor.)
Student Services
Student Services and Researcher Services Librarian
530-752-1883
Searching in a library catalog requires looking for broader topics such as animal genetics or mammal behavior rather than the more specific metapopulation gene flow or cheetah mate selection.
Author: Library Instruction Services, Shields Library
Library of Congress Classification is used for all of the UCD libraries except the health sciences libraries (which use NLM — National Library of Medicine — classification). Learn about how books are arranged in the UCD libraries with this guide.
Date: 2004
A resource of searchable proceedings from many North American Animal Conferences (predominantly production animals).
Relational database on fish from around the world including information on: taxonomy, synonym tables, average sizes and weights, environment, climate, importance, resilience, distribution, diagnosis, biology, Red list status, life history, reproduction, ecology, genetics, illustrations, photographs and much more. Developed at the WorldFish Center in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and many other partners, and with support from the European Commission (EC).
PLEASE NOTE: The PrimateLit database is no longer being updated as of November 30, 2010. The PrimateLit database provides bibliographic access to the scientific literature on nonhuman primates for the research and educational communities. Coverage of the database spans 1940 to November 2010 and includes all publication categories (articles, books, abstracts, technical reports, dissertations, book chapters, etc.) and many subject areas (behavior, colony management, ecology, reproduction, field studies, disease models, veterinary science, psychology, physiology, pharmacology, evolution, taxonomy, developmental and molecular biology, genetics and zoogeography). Literature acquisition, analysis, and indexing was a collaborative project of the Wisconsin Primate Research Center, the Washington National Primate Research Center and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries.
Indexes 1000s of scientific studies from MEDLINE, CAB Abstracts, and Agricola to facilitate review of the evidence of animals as “early warning” sentinels of human health hazards. For each study, curators add information about animal species, exposures, health effects, location, and whether the study includes data providing evidence linking animal sentinel events to human health risk. You can browse the database by year, journal, author, exposure, risk factor, species, outcome, or by methodology. The database is no longer being updated.
The California Department of Fish & Wildlife (DFW) Document Library is an online repository of thousands of DFG related documents from California agencies, contractors, and related non-governmental organizations. In addition to advanced searching for title, author, subject, keywords, and date ranges, all documents in the DFG Document Library are organized by Categories. “Browse By Category” is a convenient way to see all available groupings and learn which DFG function or program is responsible for each category. You may also view a complete list of DFG documents and then link directly to that program’s web page. The majority of documents digitized are from the 2000s with the largest collection of documents on “California Wildlife Habitat Relationships”. NOTE: CA DFG (Department of Fish adn Game) changed to CA DFW (Department of Fish and Wildlife) in January 2013.
The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is a consortium of natural history and botanical libraries worldwide that cooperate to digitize and make accessible the legacy literature of biodiversity held in their collections and to make that literature available for open access and responsible use as a part of a global “biodiversity commons.” BHL also serves as the foundational literature component of the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) with access provided to texts “with information on over a 150 million species names.” {RG 12/11/13}
Methods in Enzymology is the classic laboratory methods/protocols book series. The complete backfile of the full-text is available back to volume 1 from 1955. As of 2017, videos are selectively being added to accompany the written methods. Direct article/chapter links are provided from core subject databases such as PubMed and BIOSIS Previews. Contains detailed protocols and descriptions of biochemical and biophysical techniques for research in biological and molecular sciences. More than 500 volumes are browse-able by individual volumes online from 1955 to the present or by searching across the collection by title, author, abstract, and keyword. Full-text access to articles is available in HTML and PDF formats.
A rapidly growing collection of peer-reviewed, life science protocols organized by 11 different fields of study and 10 different organisms. Protocols are organized chronologically with a detailed guide on how to reproduce a given experiment. Each protocol also contains an interactive and moderated Q & A section to facilitate open communication between protocol authors and the research community.
A website for creating, organizing, and publishing reproducible research protocols.
UC Davis researchers have access to free premium accounts.
Open Access to full-text protocols in three categories of “in vivo”, “in vitro” and “in silico” and a general category of other.
Anyone can add their own protocols or review those under development.
Over 200 protocols available.
Extensive, completely revised and updated 17-volume version of the original work published in Germany in 1960. Incorporates recent developments in the animal world as noted by prominent advisors and contributors from the scientific community. Volume 1 covers Lower metazoans and lesser deuterostomes and volume 2 is on Protostomes. Volume 3 is about Insects. Volumes 4-5 are both concerning Fishes. Volume 6 pertains to Amphibians and volume 7 is about Reptiles. Volumes 8-11 are all concerning Birds. Volumes 12-16 are on Mammals and lastly, volume 17 is the cumulative index.
•Each entry by family includes taxonomic placement & brief details including thumbnail description, size, number of genera/species, habitat, conservation status, & distribution map.
•Detailed sections describe: evolution & systematics; physical characteristics; distribution; habitat; behavior; feeding ecology & diet; reproductive biology; conservation status; significance to humans; and end with lengthy species accounts
The 2nd edition of this 7 volume comprehensive work covers all aspects of biodiversity. “Major themes of the work include the evolution of biodiversity, systems for classifying and defining biodiversity, ecological patterns and theories of biodiversity, and an assessment of contemporary patterns and trends in biodiversity.” Over 320 articles with “approximately 1,800 figures and 350 tables complement the text, and more than 3,000 glossary entries explain key terms”. Topics range from: Agriculture; Conservation & Restoration; Economics of Biodiversity; Environmental Conditions & Effects; Evolution; Extinctions; Genetics; Geographic & Global Issues; Habitats & Ecosystems; Human Effects & Interventions; Invertebrates; Microbial Diversity; Plant Biodiversity; Population Issues; Public Policies & Attitudes; Species Interactions & Interrelationships; Systematics & Species Concept; Techniques & Measurements; Theories & Concepts of Biodiversity; to Vertebrates
This new three-volume comprehensive work covers all aspects of fish physiology. Volume 1 covers The Senses, Supporting Tissues, Reproduction, and Behavior; Volume 2 covers Gas Exchange, Internal Homeostatis, and Food Uptake; and Volume 3 covers Energetics, Interactions with the Environment, Lifestyles, and Applications. Over 300 articles are arranged by the above three volume themes rather than alphabetically. Topics cover these aspects of physiology: Reproduction, Respiration, Neural(Sensory, Central, Effector), Endocrinology, Renal, Cardiovascular, Acid-base Balance, Osmoregulation, Ionoregulation, Digestion, Metabolism, Locomotion, Toxicology, Air-breathing, Migrations, Temperature, Endothermy and more.
This encyclopedia incorporates research on “the behavior of animals and humans and the neurobiological and physiological processes that control it”. This three-volume set covers all areas of behavioral neuroscience with a total of 210 chapters.Topics range from: Addiction; Animal Models of Behavior; Behavioral Genetics; Brain Aging; Brain Structure & Function; Cognitive Neuroscience; Disease & Dysfunction; Developmental Biology; Emotion & Emotional Behavior; Ethology & Neuroethology; Evolution & Comparative Biology; History; Language & Communication; Learning & Memory; Molecular Neurobiology; Motivation & Reward; Motor Systems & Motor Control; Neuroplasticity; Psychoneuroendocrinology; Reproductive, Parental & Sexual behavior; Sensation & Perception; Sleeping, Waking & Arousal; Social Behavior/Cognition; and Stress.
This classic encyclopedia covering scientists from all time periods and all fields of science has been completely revised. This “complete” online version includes all the entries from both the new (2008) edition and the original edition.
Online amphibian catalogue initiated as a program to develop a high-quality taxonomic catalog in response to the needs of CITES (Convention on Trade In Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora). Described as tracking “the state of current taxonomic literature and the state of evidence, not the opinions of self-appointed experts.” Per history of the resource, it includes “synonymies (including the literature source of the synonymy), amphibian species described since 1985, English names, and enormously expanded citations to and abstracts of relevant taxonomic literature.” Species counts for Class: Amphibia (7044 sp.); and three orders Order: Anura (6200 sp.); Order: Caudata (652 sp.); and Order: Gymnophiona (192 sp.) {RG 12/16/13}
RESEARCH level handbook with GERMAN as first language. Online continuously updated version of De Gruyter’s Handbook of Zoology covering over 100 years of zoological research. Includes original Handbook material (> 28,000 pages) reordered along taxonomic (instead of bibliographical) categories. PLEASE NOTE: publication language of the core historical volumes is German. ENGLISH language sections are currently under the Browseable section “Ahead of Print” but are slowly being integrated into the main volumes below. Browseable volumes are organized in 8 larger volume collections as follows:
•Protozoa, Porifera, Colenteratea, Mesozoa (Vol. 1)
•Vermes Amera (Vol. 2)
•Arthropoda ex. Insecta (Vol. 3)
•Arthropoda: Insecta (Vol. 4)
•Solenogastres, Mollusca, Echinoderma (Vol. 5)
•Pisces/Amphibia (Vol. 6)
•Reptilia, Aves (Vol. 7)
•Mammalia (Vol. 8)
The UC Davis Library provides resources and services for those studying and applying spatial information. These include physical map collections, GIS resources and tools and services, and a vast array of geographic and cartographic material across the UC Davis Library.
For any questions about Maps, Mapping, and GIS, please consult the following guide:
The Animal Science Image Gallery began as a partnership between the Animal Science Education Consortium (fifteen colleges and universities in the northeast and mid-Atlantic states) and the National Agriculture Library (NAL), funded (2003-2007) by a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant.
“Morphbank :: Biological Imaging is a continuously growing database of images that scientists use for international collaboration, research and education. Images deposited in Morphbank :: Biological Imaging document a wide variety of research including: specimen-based research in comparative anatomy, morphological phylogenetics, taxonomy and related fields focused on increasing our knowledge about biodiversity. The project receives its main funding from the Biological Databases and Informatics program of the National Science Foundation (Grant DBI-0446224). “
Portal to UC researchers, centers and research groups including: Center for Aquatic Biology & Aquaculture; California Fish Photo Library; and California Freshwater Fish Laboratory. {RG 12/13/13}