《動物學(xué)前沿》是一本開放獲取、同行評議的在線期刊，發(fā)表高質(zhì)量的研究論文和對動物生活方方面面的評論。作為一門生物學(xué)學(xué)科，動物學(xué)有著悠久的歷史。今天，由于生命科學(xué)的迅速發(fā)展，動物學(xué)有時似乎被或多或少相互獨立的子學(xué)科所取代，而這些子學(xué)科之間的交流往往很少。然而，最近分子方法論進(jìn)入“經(jīng)典”生物學(xué)領(lǐng)域的進(jìn)展，以及能夠解釋不同組織層次現(xiàn)象的理論的發(fā)展，已導(dǎo)致動物學(xué)學(xué)科的重新整合，促進(jìn)了對動物學(xué)問題的更廣泛研究。動物學(xué)已重新成為一門綜合性學(xué)科，涵蓋了動物生活中最多樣化的方面，從基因?qū)用娴缴鷳B(tài)系統(tǒng)層面。《動物學(xué)前沿》是第一本關(guān)注動物學(xué)整體的開放獲取期刊。它的目的是代表和重新統(tǒng)一從不同角度觀察動物生活的各種學(xué)科，并為全面理解各級分析的動物現(xiàn)象提供基礎(chǔ)。動物學(xué)前沿提供了一個獨特的機會，發(fā)表高質(zhì)量的研究和評論的動物學(xué)問題，將在國際上的任何讀者免費訪問。該雜志是由德國最大的國家動物學(xué)會之一的德國動物學(xué)會發(fā)起并支持的，該學(xué)會在促進(jìn)高水平的動物研究方面有著100多年的悠久傳統(tǒng)。

Frontiers in Zoology is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal publishing high quality research articles and reviews on all aspects of animal life.As a biological discipline, zoology has one of the longest histories. Today it occasionally appears as though, due to the rapid expansion of life sciences, zoology has been replaced by more or less independent sub-disciplines amongst which exchange is often sparse. However, the recent advance of molecular methodology into "classical" fields of biology, and the development of theories that can explain phenomena on different levels of organisation, has led to a re-integration of zoological disciplines promoting a broader than usual approach to zoological questions. Zoology has re-emerged as an integrative discipline encompassing the most diverse aspects of animal life, from the level of the gene to the level of the ecosystem.Frontiers in Zoology is the first open access journal focusing on zoology as a whole. It aims to represent and re-unite the various disciplines that look at animal life from different perspectives and at providing the basis for a comprehensive understanding of zoological phenomena on all levels of analysis. Frontiers in Zoology provides a unique opportunity to publish high quality research and reviews on zoological issues that will be internationally accessible to any reader at no cost.The journal was initiated and is supported by the Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft, one of the largest national zoological societies with more than a century-long tradition in promoting high-level zoological research.