Niko Tinbergen (et al.)

Niko Tinbergen was a pioneering ethologist who studied animal behavior. He developed a framework for understanding why animals act in certain ways, called "problems of behavior," and identified four key questions: what triggers a behavior (causes), how it develops (ontogeny), its function or purpose, and its evolutionary history. His work helped reveal how animals adapt and survive in their environments. Tinbergen’s approach combines observation, experimentation, and evolutionary insight, and his contributions laid the foundation for modern behavioral science, emphasizing the importance of studying animals both in their natural habitats and through scientific analysis.