Sign stimulus
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In ethology, an external trigger for a fixed action pattern[1]. Signal stimuli are simple visual cues which usually bring about a fixed action pattern response in a different organism of the same spieces.
An example would be in the mating of 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.
Sign Stimulus - a stimulus which triggers one phase of an instinct
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