Abstract
The theoretical foundation of ethology is that behavior, like morphology, is adaptive and subject to selection pressures, and that it may have a genetic basis and phylogenetic history. As with morphological and anatomical features, a behavioral trait can best be understood by determining (1) the physiological and environmental factors regulating it (its immediate or proximate mechanisms), (2) its development in the individual (ontogeny), (3) its function in terms of the advantages it confers on the animal, and (4) its evolutionary development (phylogeny).
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© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Zumpe, D., Michael, R.P. (2001). Some Ethological Concepts. In: Notes on the Elements of Behavioral Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1239-4_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1239-4_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5456-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-1239-4
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