BIOL 321 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Nikolaas Tinbergen, Ethology, The Control Group
4 Oct 2016
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Scientists study both the proximate mechanisms that generate behaviour and the ultimate reasons why the behaviour evolved. Migration in animals is often initiated by seasonal changes in day length. Migration allows individuals to track resources and avoid places where resource availability is greatly limited in some seasons it promotes survival. Four basic questions that can be asked about animal behaviour (niko tinbergen, Answers to the first and second questions above are often referred to as proximate explanations: explanations that focus on understanding the immediate causes of a behaviour. Answers to the third and fourth questions above are refereed to as ultimate explanations: explanations of behaviour that require evolutionary reasoning and analyses. Researchers use observational, experimental, and comparative measures to study behaviour. An approach in which scientists observe and record the behaviour of an organism without manipulating the environment or the animal. Behaviour is often an important indicator of well-being or level of stress.
