Biology / Bio 3615 · Atom · ~20 seconds
Proximate versus Ultimate Causation in Behavior
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A proximate cause explains the immediate physiological or environmental trigger of a behavior, while an ultimate cause explains the evolutionary reason selection favored it.
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Shortening day length is the proximate trigger for bird migration; avoiding winter scarcity is its ultimate explanation.
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Proximate and ultimate causes answer different questions about the same behavior — neither substitutes for or contradicts the other.