Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists
Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 19-1023.00
Study the origins, behavior, diseases, genetics, and life processes of animals and wildlife. May specialize in wildlife research and management. May collect and analyze biological data to determine the environmental effects of present and potential use of land and water habitats.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
High· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.061
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.40
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Exposed tasks only14 rated tasks · 10 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (71.4%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- 2 rated tasks are not in the O*NET 31.0 task list; their scores are kept as published for O*NET 27.2.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
| Task (O*NET 20.1) | Claude.aiRaw / share % | APIRaw / share % |
|---|---|---|
Analyze characteristics of animals to identify and classify them.19-1023.00 | 0.025073.1 | 0.0396100.0 |
Study characteristics of animals, such as origin, interrelationships, classification, life histories and diseases, development, genetics, and distribution.19-1023.00 | 0.004814.0 | —0 |
Prepare collections of preserved specimens or microscopic slides for species identification and study of development or disease.19-1023.00 | 0.00257.3 | —0 |
Inform and respond to public regarding wildlife and conservation issues, such as plant identification, hunting ordinances, and nuisance wildlife.19-1023.00 | 0.00195.6 | —0 |
| Not observed on any surface — 11 task(s) — These tasks have no row in the source for this release. The 0 in the share row is a display-stage composition ratio; absence is what the — in the raw row states. | ||
Study animals in their natural habitats, assessing effects of environment and industry on animals, interpreting findings and recommending alternative operating conditions for industry. | —0 | —0 |
Inventory or estimate plant and wildlife populations. | —0 | —0 |
Make recommendations on management systems and planning for wildlife populations and habitat, consulting with stakeholders and the public at large to explore options. | —0 | —0 |
Disseminate information by writing reports and scientific papers or journal articles, and by making presentations and giving talks for schools, clubs, interest groups and park interpretive programs. | —0 | —0 |
Organize and conduct experimental studies with live animals in controlled or natural surroundings. | —0 | —0 |
Perform administrative duties such as fundraising, public relations, budgeting, and supervision of zoo staff. | —0 | —0 |
Oversee the care and distribution of zoo animals, working with curators and zoo directors to determine the best way to contain animals, maintain their habitats and manage facilities. | —0 | —0 |
Coordinate preventive programs to control the outbreak of wildlife diseases. | —0 | —0 |
Raise specimens for study and observation or for use in experiments. | —0 | —0 |
Collect and dissect animal specimens and examine specimens under microscope. | —0 | —0 |
Check for, and ensure compliance with, environmental laws, and notify law enforcement when violations are identified. | —0 | —0 |
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime. The unit and the meaning differ from the observed shares (%) in the other tabs, so do not place them on the same axis.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Disseminate information by writing reports and scientific papers or journal articles, and by making presentations and giving talks for schools, clubs, interest groups and park interpretive programs.O*NET Task ID 1496 | 1.0 |
Study animals in their natural habitats, assessing effects of environment and industry on animals, interpreting findings and recommending alternative operating conditions for industry.O*NET Task ID 1492 | 0.5 |
Inventory or estimate plant and wildlife populations.O*NET Task ID 1493 | 0.5 |
Analyze characteristics of animals to identify and classify them.O*NET Task ID 1494 | 0.5 |
Make recommendations on management systems and planning for wildlife populations and habitat, consulting with stakeholders and the public at large to explore options.O*NET Task ID 1495 | 0.5 |
Study characteristics of animals, such as origin, interrelationships, classification, life histories, diseases, development, genetics, and distribution.O*NET Task ID 1497 | 0.5 |
Perform administrative duties, such as fundraising, public relations, budgeting, and supervision of zoo staff.O*NET Task ID 1498 | 0.5 |
Coordinate preventive programs to control the outbreak of wildlife diseases.O*NET Task ID 1501 | 0.5 |
Inform and respond to public regarding wildlife and conservation issues, such as plant identification, hunting ordinances, and nuisance wildlife.O*NET Task ID 18615 | 0.5 |
Check for, and ensure compliance with, environmental laws, and notify law enforcement when violations are identified.O*NET Task ID 18616 | 0.5 |
Organize and conduct experimental studies with live animals in controlled or natural surroundings.O*NET Task ID 1499 | 0.0 |
Prepare collections of preserved specimens or microscopic slides for species identification and study of development or disease.O*NET Task ID 1502 | 0.0 |
Raise specimens for study and observation or for use in experiments.O*NET Task ID 1503 | 0.0 |
Collect and dissect animal specimens and examine specimens under microscope.O*NET Task ID 1504 | 0.0 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Anthropic Economic Index, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (14)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Study animals in their natural habitats, assessing effects of environment and industry on animals, interpreting findings and recommending alternative operating conditions for industry. | Core |
| Inventory or estimate plant and wildlife populations. | Core |
| Analyze characteristics of animals to identify and classify them. | Core |
| Disseminate information by writing reports and scientific papers or journal articles, and by making presentations and giving talks for schools, clubs, interest groups and park interpretive programs. | Core |
| Study characteristics of animals, such as origin, interrelationships, classification, life histories, diseases, development, genetics, and distribution. | Core |
| Perform administrative duties, such as fundraising, public relations, budgeting, and supervision of zoo staff. | Core |
| Organize and conduct experimental studies with live animals in controlled or natural surroundings. | Core |
| Coordinate preventive programs to control the outbreak of wildlife diseases. | Core |
| Inform and respond to public regarding wildlife and conservation issues, such as plant identification, hunting ordinances, and nuisance wildlife. | Core |
| Check for, and ensure compliance with, environmental laws, and notify law enforcement when violations are identified. | Core |
| Develop, or make recommendations on, management systems and plans for wildlife populations and habitat, consulting with stakeholders and the public at large to explore options. | Core |
| Conduct literature reviews. | Core |
| Prepare collections of preserved specimens or microscopic slides for species identification and study of development or disease. | Supplemental |
| Collect and dissect animal specimens and examine specimens under microscope. | Supplemental |
0.04/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Study animals in their natural habitats, assessing effects of environment and industry on animals, interpreting findings and recommending alternative operating conditions for industry. | E0 none |
| Inventory or estimate plant and wildlife populations. | E0 none |
| Study characteristics of animals, such as origin, interrelationships, classification, life histories, diseases, development, genetics, and distribution. | E0 none |
| Organize and conduct experimental studies with live animals in controlled or natural surroundings. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Prepare collections of preserved specimens or microscopic slides for species identification and study of development or disease. | E0 none |
| Collect and dissect animal specimens and examine specimens under microscope. | E0 none |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 20K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 20K
- Change (2025–35)
- +3.6%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $76,780
- Typical education needed for entry
- Bachelor's degree
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21111 | 생물학 연구원 | This occupation is narrower | confirmed |
| 21116 | 수산학 연구원 | This occupation is broader | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 2131Biologists, Botanists, Zoologists and Related Professionals
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
Biologists, botanists, zoologists and related professionals study living organisms and their interactions with each other and with the environment, and apply this knowledge to solve human health and environmental problems. They work in diverse fields such as botany, zoology, ecology, marine biology, genetics, immunology, pharmacology, toxicology, physiology, bacteriology and virology.
Tasks
- (a) undertaking research in laboratories and in the field to increase scientific knowledge of living organisms; to discover new information; to test hypotheses; to solve problems in areas such as the environment, agriculture and health; and to develop new products, processes and techniques for pharmaceutical, agricultural and environmental use;
- (b) designing and conducting experiments and tests;
- (c) gathering human, animal, insect and plant specimens and data, and studying their origin, development, chemical and physical form, structure, composition, and life and reproductive processes;
- (d) examining living organisms using a variety of specialised equipment, instruments, technologies and techniques such as electron microscopes, telemetry, global positioning systems, biotechnology, satellite imaging, genetic engineering, digital imaging analysis, polymerase chain reaction and computer modelling;
- (e) identifying, classifying, recording and monitoring living organisms and maintaining databases;
- (f) writing scientific papers and reports detailing research and any new findings which are then made available to the scientific community in scientific journals or at conferences for scrutiny and further debate;
- (g) designing and carrying out environmental impact assessments to identify changes caused by natural or human factors;
- (h) providing advice to governments, organizations and businesses in areas such as conservation, management of natural resources, the effects of climate change and pollution.
Example occupations
Animal behaviourist · Bacteriologist · Biochemist · Biologist · Biomedical researcher · Biotechnologist · Botanist · Cell geneticist · Marine biologist · Microbiologist · Molecular biologist · Molecular geneticist · Pharmacologist · Zoologist
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- biologistESCO 2131.4This occupation is narrower
Biologists study living organisms and life in its broader extent in combination with its environment. Through research, they strive to explain the functional mechanisms, interactions, and evolution of organisms.
- fisheries adviserESCO 2132.4This occupation is broader
Fisheries advisers provide consultancy on fish stocks and their habitats. They manage the costal fishing business modernisation and provide improvement solutions. Fisheries advisers develop plans and policies for fisheries management. They may provide advice on protected farms and wild fish stock.
- zoology technicianESCO 3141.2.5Overlapping, not the same
Zoology technicians provide technical assistance in researching and testing animal species using laboratory equipment. They aid in research concerning animals as well as their environments and ecosystems. They collect and analyse data, compile reports and maintain laboratory stock.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| A1314 | Halieute | This occupation is broader |
| A1323 | Ornithologue | This occupation is broader |
| K2418 | Chercheur animalier / Chercheuse animalière | This occupation is broader |
| A1306 | Chargé / Chargée d'étude naturaliste | Overlapping, not the same |
| A1316 | Chargé / Chargée de conservation ex-situ | Related, not a match |
| K2412 | Chercheur / Chercheuse du monde aquatique | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 2421 | Biólogos, botánicos, zoólogos y afines | This occupation is narrower |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 41254 | Berufe in der Biologie (Zoologie) - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | This occupation is broader |
| 41234 | Berufe in der Biologie (Ökologie) - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | Overlapping, not the same |
| 11424 | Berufe in der Fischerei - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 051 | 自然科学系研究者 | This occupation is narrower |
| 061 | 農林水産技術者 | Related, not a match |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources