Proximate and ultimate questions Two basic types of questions asked in Animal Behavior Proximate (focus on mechanics of behavior). Ultimate (focus on advantages of the behavior)

Proximate questions Questions about physical mechanisms. Focus on the genetic-developmental aspects and the sensory-motor aspects of the behavior. Focus on things that cause or enable the animal to perform the behavior.

Proximate questions Examples of proximate questions: How mechanically does the behavior take place? What factors in the environment stimulate the behavior? How do the nerves and muscles generate the behavior? How do the animal’s genes affect the behavior?

Ultimate questions Ultimate questions are questions about the evolutionary reasons for a behavior. They are questions about the selective processes that shape the behavior.

Ultimate questions Examples of ultimate questions: What is the purpose of the behavior? In what way does the behavior increase an individual’s reproductive success? Does the behavior increase an individual’s prospects of survival?

A proximate question. How do beewolves find their way home?

Beewolf homing When leaving nest to hunt bees, female beewolf covers nest entrance with sand. How does she relocate it?

An ultimate question: Why do Black-headed gulls remove eggshells from their nests?