Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Identify and describe the properties of lifeDescribe the levels of organization among living thingsRecognize and interpret a phylogenetic treeList examples of different sub disciplines in biology

This book is an introduction to the diversity of structure and function in animals at the tissue and organ system level. The focus of this book is on principles and mechanisms that sustain life and maintain homeostasis, including water balance, gas exchange, acquisition and transport of oxygen and nutrients, temperature regulation, electrical and chemical signal transmission, sensory processing, and locomotion. The content in this open textbook was adapted from other open textbooks (cc by 4.0) resources or created/written by Sanja Hinic-Frlog and collaborators. Collaborators include: Jessica Hanley, Simone Laughton, and invited undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Toronto Mississauga.