The main aim of the Research Centre on ‘Cognition, Behaviour, and Ecology in animals’ is to provide answers to four questions: (1) What are the underlying neurobiological and cognitive mechanisms that enable individuals to adapt their behavior in response to unexpected or sudden changes in the environment? (2) How do these mechanisms and the resulting behaviour develop during an individual's lifetime? (3) What are the consequences if individuals are better (or just less) able to adapt their behaviour? (4) How has the ability to adapt behavior evolved (and are there species that are better or less able to adapt their behaviour)?