Copyright ? 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. - 1 - Name___________________________ Period___________ Chapter 51: Animal Behavior Overview 1. How is behavior defined? A behavior is an action carried out by muscles under control of the nervous system in response to a stimulus. Concept 51.1 Discrete sensory inputs can stimulate both simple and complex behaviors 2. What is behavioral ecology? Behavioral ecology is the study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior. 3. What is a fixed action pattern (FAP)? Give an example. A sequence of unlearned acts directly linked to a simple stimulus. Fixed action patterns are essentially unchangeable and, once initiated, usually carried to completion. The territorial