Department of Zoology

We are a thriving community of researchers united by a fascination with the living world. Using novel interdisciplinary approaches, our mission is to understand how life evolves, how it functions, and how we can conserve it for the future.

News

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6 Oct 2026

Endless brains most beautiful: Professor Stephen Montgomery's inaugural lecture

Title card for Endless brains most beautiful Prof Stephen Montgomery inaugural lecture featuring a photo of a heliconius butterfly

1 Oct 2026

Beyond species and habitats: rethinking nature conservation

A Norfolk Hawker dragonfly perched on the stem of a reed. Photo by Christian Fischer, Wikimedia Commons.

15 Sep 2026

Innovative research method offers insights into social behaviour

Section of a whole-colony trail network generated during a representative observation. Image credit: Helder HUGO

11 Sep 2026

Mind the gap: new research helps identify the actions species need

Midwife toad photo by tuurio and wallie

3 Sep 2026

World-first male fly brain map helps unlock secret workings of the mind

Ventral (underneath) view of a representative collection of cell types in the male CNS connectome. Credits: Data by the FlyEM Project Team at HHMI-Janelia, the Cambridge Connectomics Group, the MRC-LMB, and Google Research. Rendering by Philip Hubbard.

14 Aug 2026

How Nepal’s vultures made a remarkable recovery

White-rumped vultures in Nepal
Bumble bee on a yellow flower. Photo by Paula Connelly

Our research

We pride ourselves on the outstanding quality of our research, its impact and the cutting-edge techniques we develop and apply.

Explore our research themes and groups Our research group leaders Join us as a research fellow
Blue and yellow cichlids in a fish tank.

Study with us

Our students are energised, eager to learn and deeply committed. We take our responsibility to nurture this talent very seriously.

Undergraduate study Postgraduate study
The Department of Zoology buildings at sunset
University Museum of Zoology

Our museum houses an internationally significant collection, attracts over 150,000 visitors a year, and is an outstanding resource for research and teaching.
Wetland view with reeds in the foreground, islets and inlets further off, and a wide sky with skudding clouds.
Cambridge Conservation Initiative

We are closely allied to the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and 10 leading conservation organisations.
shelves of books in the Zoology library
Zoology library

At the heart of our oldest building, our library covers the breadth of zoological knowledge with volumes dating from the 14th century to the present day.

Events

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Zoology Department Seminar: Rapid evolution in silence: adaptive signal loss in the Pacific field cricket

15 October 2026 * 1:00pm to 2:00pm Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.

Professor Marlene Zuk

Zoology Department Seminar: From worms to polar bears: pathogen spread and virulence in a warming world

22 October 2026 * 1:00pm to 2:00pm Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.

Professor Kayla King

Zoology Department Seminar: Patterns and potential processes in the evolution of Ediacaran morphological diversity

12 November 2026 * 1:00pm to 2:00pm Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.

Dr Thomas J. Roper-Smith Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford

Zoology Department Seminar: Ecological networks reveal how changes in pollinator biodiversity cascade through agroecosystems to shape human nutrition and livelihoods

19 November 2026 * 1:00pm to 2:00pm Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.

Dr Thomas Timberlake

Zoology Department Seminar: On the evolutionary origins and consequences of XY and ZW sex-determining systems

26 November 2026 * 1:00pm to 2:00pm Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.

Charles Mullon

Zoology Department Seminar: Intergroup conflict and the evolution of animal societies

3 December 2026 * 1:00pm to 2:00pm Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.

Prof Michael Cant