Interactions with microbial communities can have profound influences on animal physiology, thereby impacting animal performance and fitness. Therefore, it is important to understand the diversity and nature of host-microbe interactions in various animal groups (invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals). In this perspective, I discuss how the field of host-microbe interactio...

Comparative physiology studies cellular, organ and organismic phenomena. It benefits from the diversity found in the animal kingdom. This diversity results from the enormous number of animal species and also from the size variation found among them. While describing the basic physiological systems in various animal groups it provides important basic information. The study of physiological varia...

Many animal populations are in decline as a result of human activity. Conservation practitioners are attempting to prevent further declines and loss of biodiversity as well as to facilitate recovery of endangered species, and they often rely on interdisciplinary approaches to generate conservation solutions. Two recent interfaces in conservation science involve animal behavior (i.e., conservati...