AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Ultimate causes refer to the past conditions having led to the information encoded in DNA. The phenomena involved in these different levels of causation occur on different time scales.

Detailed explanation-2: -Example: Why did the ship sink? Proximate cause: Because it was holed beneath the waterline, water entered the hull and the ship became denser than the water which supported it, so it could not stay afloat. Ultimate cause: Because the ship hit a rock which tore open the hole in the ship’s hull.

Detailed explanation-3: -Evolutionary (ultimate) explanations Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is the only scientific explanation for why an animal’s behavior is usually well adapted for survival and reproduction in its environment.

Detailed explanation-4: -A proximate cause is an immediate, mechanical influence on a trait: say, the influence of day length on the concentration of a hormone in a bird’s brain. Ultimate causes are historical explanations; these explain why an organism has one trait rather than another, often in terms of natural selection.