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fixed action pattern

American  

noun

Ethology.

  1. a highly stereotyped pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a particular species.

Etymology

Origin of fixed action pattern

Said to be a translation of German Erbkoordination, term used by Konrad Lorenz

Example Sentences

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Figure 36.35 Male three-spined stickleback fish exhibit a fixed action pattern.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.