Name: stickleback courtship and attack signals
Uploaded: 2026-08-26T08:20:45.257Z
Duration: 1 min 23 s
Channel: JoVE

K12 Standards

Next Generation Science Standards

High School

Life Science

ecosystems-interactions-energy-and-dynamics

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

HS-LS2-8

Fixed Action Patterns

A fixed action pattern is an instinctive sequence of behaviors triggered by a specific stimulus and usually runs to completion once it begins.A classic example comes from the three-spined stickleback fish.During the breeding season, male sticklebacks develop a bright red belly and build nests to attract females. Females, which do not have a red belly, enter the nest and lay their eggs.When another male enters the territory, the nesting male performs a stereotyped attack behavior. This attacking behavior is a fixed action pattern.When a simple fish-shaped model with a red underside is introduced, it triggers the same aggressive behavior. However, a model without a red underside does not trigger an attack.The red belly acts as the sign stimulus, also called a releaser, that triggers the male&#x27;s aggressive fixed action pattern. These behavior patterns are innate, meaning the fish do not learn them through experience.In sticklebacks, this hardwired behavior helps males pass on their genes by protecting their nesting territory, eggs, and offspring from rival males.

fixed action patterns

A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The behavior is &#x201C;fixed&#x201D; because it is essentially unchangeable&#x2014;proceeding similarly across individuals of a species every time it occurs.

<h4>Three-Spined Sticklebacks</h4>

A classic example of a FAP was described in three-spined stickleback fish by Nikolaas Tinbergen in the 1930s. During the breeding season, the male fish develop a red throat and belly and build a nest. Male sticklebacks attract females to the nest with a courtship dance and encourage her to lay eggs, which the male then fertilizes. He protects the fertilized eggs and, later, the newborn young. During these phases of courtship, breeding, and parental care, the male aggressively attacks any other males who come near his nesting territory. This increases the likelihood of his genes being successfully passed on to future generations.

Tinbergen discovered that male sticklebacks would also attack models of fish&#x2014;even if they are unrealistic looking&#x2014;but only if the undersides are painted red like the red belly of a breeding male. When a more realistic model is introduced that does not have a red belly (appearing similar to a female stickleback), the male will not attack. It was concluded that the red belly is the sign stimulus that triggers the attack behavior&#x2014;the FAP.

FAPs are innate, meaning that the animal is born with the ability to carry out the behavior, and therefore does not need to learn it. FAPs are also usually completed once initially triggered. These behaviors may be critical to increasing an animal&#x2019;s fitness, for instance, by allowing them to instinctively recognize and attack prey, or&#x2014;as in sticklebacks&#x2014;increase the production of offspring that can survive to maturity.

A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The ...

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Biology

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Behavior

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

stickleback courtship and attack signals

A fixed action pattern is a hard-wired behavior sequence that starts when an animal detects a sign stimulus. The behavior is fixed because it stays the same across individuals of a species. It is innate, so the animal is born with the ability to do it and does not need to learn it.

Nikolaas Tinbergen described a classic fixed action pattern in three-spined stickleback fish in the 1930s. During breeding season, male sticklebacks develop a red throat and belly and build a nest. They use a courtship dance to attract females, encourage egg laying, and then fertilize the eggs. After that, the male protects the fertilized eggs and later the newborn young.

The same male also attacks other males that come near his nesting territory during courtship, breeding, and parental care. Tinbergen showed that male sticklebacks would attack fish models even when the models looked unrealistic, as long as the underside was painted red. A more realistic model without a red belly, which looked more like a female stickleback, did not trigger the attack. The red belly was the sign stimulus that set off the attack behavior.

Fixed action patterns often finish once they are triggered. These behaviors can improve an animal’s fitness by helping it recognize prey or, as in sticklebacks, defend territory and increase the number of offspring that survive to maturity.

Stickleback Courtship and Attack Signals

types of behavior

How Animals Act and Adapt

Animal behavior is the set of actions an organism performs. These actions can help it find food, reproduce, defend against threats, and carry out many other tasks. Behavior can also include movement in the environment, such as migration, and social interactions within a species or population. Many behaviors involve motor output. Motor output means muscle movement. Other behaviors are less visible. Learning is one example of a behavior that does not always show up as an obvious physical action.<br...

A fixed action pattern is a hard-wired behavior sequence that starts when an animal detects a sign stimulus. The behavior is fixed because it stays the same across individuals of a species. It is innate, so the animal is born with the ability to do it and does not need to learn it. Nikolaas Tinbergen described a classic fixed action pattern in three-spined stickleback fish in the 1930s. During breeding season, male sticklebacks develop a red throat and belly and build a nest. They use a...

imprinting

Imprinting and Early Animal Bonding

Imprinting is a form of early animal bonding seen in some newborn animals. It happens after brief exposure soon after birth or hatching. During this time, young animals form a strong and specific attachment to another animal, usually a parent. This early window is called the critical period. Once imprinting happens, the bond is usually long-lasting. In many cases, the young animal will keep that attachment even after the critical period ends. Imprinting helps animals survive. Mother sheep can...

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parental care

How Animals Care for Their Young

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altruism

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inclusive fitness

How Kin Selection Spreads Helpful Traits

Inclusive fitness explains why animals may help relatives even at a personal cost. It describes how an individual can pass on genes through its own offspring and through the offspring of close relatives that share those genes. When help increases a relative’s reproductive success, the helper’s inclusive fitness can also rise. A clear example appears in eusocial animals such as bees and naked mole rats. These species live in colonies with one reproductively capable female, called the queen. The...

key terms and concepts

Explore how a red belly triggers an attack fixed action pattern in three-spined sticklebacks, and how this innate behavior supports breeding and parental care.

Stickleback Courtship and Attack Signals | JoVE K12

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HS-LS2-3

Stickleback Courtship and Attack Signals

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