Kelp Gull chicks peck at red spot on mothers beak to stimulate regurgitating reflex.

In ethology, a fixed action pattern (FAP) is an instinctive behavioral sequence that is indivisible and runs to completion. Fixed action patterns are invariant and are produced by a neural network known as the innate releasing mechanism in response to an external sensory stimulus known as a sign stimulus or releaser (a signal from one individual to another). Download high resolution version (1123x842, 213 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1123x842, 213 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Binomial name Larus dominicanus (Lichtenstein, 1823) The Kelp Gull, Larus dominicanus, breeds on coasts and islands through much of the southern hemisphere. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Instinct (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In cognitive neuroscience, a neural network (also known as a neuronal network or biological neural network to distinguish from artificial neural networks) is a population of interconnected neurons. ... This article or section may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to be clearer or more simplified. ... Within evolutionary biology, signalling theory refers to the scientific theory around how organisms signal their condition to others. ...

Examples

The egg rolling behavior of a Greylag Goose is a widely cited example of FAPs.

A mating dance may be used as an example. Many species of birds engage in a specific series of elaborate movements, usually by a brightly colored male. How well they perform the "dance" is then used by females of the species to judge their fitness as a potential mate. The key stimulus is typically the presence of the female. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2496 × 1664 pixel, file size: 703 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2496 × 1664 pixel, file size: 703 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Sevenspotted Lady Beetles mating In biology, mating is the pairing of opposite-sex or hermaphroditic internal fertilization animals for copulation and, in social animals, also to raise their offspring. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... The shield and spear of the Roman god Mars, which is also the alchemical symbol for iron, represents the male sex. ... Female is a sex that denotes an animal which produces egg cells in order to reproduce. ... Mate may refer to: Relationships: Mate (term), a term for a friend, especially in the United Kingdom and Australasia; also used to address strangers One of a pair of animals, sometimes also applied to a human partner; see mating Nautical: A deck officer on a merchant marine vessel, usually ranked... In physiology, a stimulus is a detectable change in the internal or external environment. ...

Another example of a FAP is the red-bellied stickleback (fish). The male turns a bright red/blue colour during the breeding season. This colour change is the fixed action pattern in response to an increasing day length which is the sign stimulus. During this time they are also naturally aggressive towards other red-bellied sticklebacks, another FAP. However anything that is red will bring about this FAP. The proximate response to this is that due to the stimuli, a nerve sends a signal to attack that red item. The ultimate cause of this behavior stems from the fact that the stickleback needs the area in which it is living for either habitat, food, mating with other sticklebacks, or other purposes. This interaction was studied by Niko Tinbergen. Genera Apeltes Culaea Gasterosteus Pungitius Spinachia The Gasterosteidae are a family of fishes including the Sticklebacks. ... Reproduction is the creation of one thing as a copy of, product of, or replacement for a similar thing, e. ... For other uses, see Red (disambiguation). ... Nikolaas Tinbergen (April 15, 1907 - December 21, 1988) was a noted ethologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl Von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz for their discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behaviour patterns. ...

Another well known case is the classic experiments by Tinbergen and Lorenz on the Graylag Goose. Like similar waterfowl, it will roll a displaced egg near its nest back to the others with its beak. The sight of the displaced egg triggers this mechanism. If the egg is taken away, the animal continues with the behavior, pulling its head back as if an imaginary egg is still being maneuvered by the underside of its beak. However, it will also attempt to move other egg shaped objects, such as a golf ball, door knob, or even an egg too large to have possibly been laid by the goose itself (a supernormal stimulus).^[1] Lorenz being followed by his imprinted geese Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (November 7, 1903 in Vienna – February 27, 1989 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, animal psychologist, and ornithologist. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Subspecies Western Greylag Goose Eastern Greylag Goose Domesticated goose The Greylag Goose, Anser anser, is a bird with a wide range in the Old World. ... Falcated Duck at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands centre, Gloucestershire, England Wildfowl or waterfowl, also waterbirds, is the collective term for the approximately 147 species of swans, geese and ducks, classified in the order Anseriformes, family Anatidae. ... In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... A superstimulus or superreleaser is an exaggerated version of a stimulus to which there is an existing response tendency, or any stimulus that elicits a response more strongly than the stimulus that normally releases it. ...

Yawning behavior is seen in many animals

Although fixed action patterns are most common in animals with simpler cognitive capabilities, humans also demonstrate fixed action patterns. For example, infants grasp strongly with their hands as a response to tactile stimulus. This is thought to be a vestigial mechanism where when threatened by a predator a young primate would grab on to a parent's fur so the parent could climb to safety without having to hold its child^{[citation needed]} (see also reflex action). Another FAP shared by some animals, including humans, is yawning, which often triggers yawning in other individuals. Yawns last around 6 seconds and are difficult to stop once initiated. Yawning, whether seen, heard or both, then serves as a releaser in nearby animals.^[2] My cat yawning. ... My cat yawning. ... The human vermiform appendix is a vestigial structure; it no longer retains its original function. ... A reflex action is an automatic (involuntary) neuromuscular action elicited by a defined stimulus. ... A dog yawning A yawn is a reflex of deep inhalation and exhalation associated with being tired, with a need to sleep, or from boredom. ...

Mimicry

Brood parasites provide a supernormal stimulus to the parenting species.

Some species have evolved to exploit the fixed action patterns of other species by mimicry of their sign stimulus. Replicating the releasing mechanism required to trigger an FAP is known as code-breaking. A well known example of this is brood parasitism, where one species will lay its eggs in the nest of another species, which will then parent its young. A young North American cowbird, for example, provides a supernormal stimulus to its parent, which will cause it to forage rapidly in order to satisfy the larger bird's demands.^[3] In a natural situation a nestling will provide higher levels of stimulus with noisier, more energetic behavior, communicating its urgent need for food. Parents in this situation should work extra hard to provide food, otherwise their offspring are likely to die of starvation. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (446x628, 67 KB) From the Norsk language wiki. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (446x628, 67 KB) From the Norsk language wiki. ... Plate from Henry Walter Bates (1862) illustrating Batesian mimicry between Dismorphia species (top row, third row) and various Ithomiini (Nymphalidae) (second row, bottom row). ... Brood parasites are a sub-category of kleptoparasite occurring among birds or insects, that lay their eggs in the nests of other species to be raised by the host. ... Species M. rufoaxillaris M. oryzivorus M.s aeneus M. bonariensis M. ater Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus Molothrus in the family Icteridae. ... A female child during the Nigerian-Biafran war of the late 1960s, shown suffering the effects of severe hunger and malnutrition. ...

In humans

Harvard Social Psychologist Ellen Langer demonstrated FAPs in humans with an experiment which showed that when we ask people to do us a favor we will be more successful if we provide a reason. She demonstrated this by asking a small favor of people using a photocopy machine. If she asked 'May I cut in front of you, I only have 5 pages and am in a rush' 94% of people allowed her to cut ahead. If she just said 'I only have 5 pages may I cut ahead' only 60% allowed her. Her third attempt asking 'I only have 5 pages may I cut ahead because...' had a 93% success rate. Showing that no good reason was needed, just the FAP of having been provided an explanation.

References

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Fixed action patterns

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Cited

1. ^ Tinbergen, N. (1951) The Study of Instinct. Oxford University Press, New York.
2. ^ Provine, R. R. (1986) Yawning as a stereo-typed action pattern and releasing stimulus. Ethology 72:109-122.
3. ^ Wickler, W. (1968) Mimicry in Plants and Animals. World University Library, London.

Nikolaas Tinbergen (April 15, 1907 - December 21, 1988) was a noted ethologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl Von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz for their discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behaviour patterns. ...

General

• Campbell, N. A. (1996) Biology (4th edition), Chapter 50. Benjamin Cummings, New York ISBN 0-8053-1957-3
• Alcock, J. (1998) Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach (6th edition), Chapter 5. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, Massachusetts. ISBN 0-87893-009-4
• Influence, Robert Cialdini (1998), Chapter 1. Collins ISBN-10: 0688128165 ISBN-13: 978-0688128166
• http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0688128165/ref=sib_dp_pop_ex/102-5352850-7930567?ie=UTF8&p=S00G#reader-link
• http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~langer/