Every day, scientists in the eight research departments at the California Academy of Sciences carry on a fascinating variety of original scientific research, focusing on systematics, the science of naming organisms and arranging them into groups based on shared similarities. Academy of Sciences researchers study a wide variety of organisms using many different methods, ranging from computer and microscopic analysis in the lab to field research all over the world, where specimens are collected for future analysis.

The following are the main areas in which the Academy of Sciences conducts research:

• Anthropology: the scientific study of the origin and physical, social, and cultural development and behavior of humans and other primates.
• Aquatic Biology: the scientific study of aquatic organisms.
• Botany: the scientific study of plants.
• Entomology: the scientific study of insects.
• Geology: the scientific study of the origin, history, and structure of the earth.
• Herpetology: the scientific study of reptiles and amphibians.
• Ichthyology: the scientific study of fishes.
• Invertebrate Zoology: the scientific study of invertebrates (animals without backbones).
• Mammalogy: the scientific study of mammals.
• Ornithology: the scientific study of birds.

Every other week, this site will feature one of the Academy of Sciences' scientists, an organism which is the subject of current study, or one of the locations where research is done. Check back here frequently to learn more about research at the California Academy of Sciences!

Return to the Research Home Page of the California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California