We can ask two fundamental questions about animal behaviour, they referred to as proximate and ultimate. Proximate questions are those concerned with the mechanisms that bring about behavior, ultimate questions are those concerned with the evolution of behavior. We can divide the proximate and ultimate questions into two sub-questions. For proximate, how does the behaviour develop, and secondly what causes the behavior. For ultimate, you can ask how did the behavior evolve, and secondly what is the adaptive significance of the behavior, what is purpose.
Together these comprise what are called Tinbergen’s four questions about animal behaviour . Nike Tinbergen was one of the founding fathers of the study of animal behaviour . These questions represent the different ways of studying animal behaviour and understanding the difference between those four questions are fundamental to understanding behaviour and indeed the whole of biology. How do we study animal behavior? Well that depends on the type of question we’re hoping to answer.
Significantly focusing on the fact which is mentioned is animal behavior and it comprises that fundamental questions about animal behaviours referred to as proximate and ultimate. Additionally, proximate questions contain two sub-sections including the development and causation of animal behaviours, whereas ultimate questions are divided into evolutionary history and its adaptive significance. Considering the most substantial insights which are specified here, identifying the difference between aforementioned four questions are fundamental to understanding animal behavior and the whole of biology.
