BIOLOGY 1M03 Chapter Notes - Chapter 51: Song Sparrow, Instinct, Konrad Lorenz
15 May 2017
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Proximate causation explains how actions occur in terms of neurological, hormonal and skeletal-muscular mechanisms involved. Ultimate causation explains why actions occur, based on their evolutionary consequences and history. Learning is defined as a change in behaviour that results from a specific experience in the life on an individual. It is common to observe innate behaviour in response to: situations that have a high impact on fitness and demand a reflex-like, unlearned response, situations where learning is not possible. It takes only a few seconds to make a round trip to the closest feeding territories, versus several minutes to the farthest territories: thus, the fitness cost of each feeding trip varies widely among individuals. If optimal foraging occurs, how do individuals maximize their benefits, given the cost that they have to pay in time and energy. Individuals that have to find food far from the colony stay away longer on each trip.
