Guppy (Poecilla reticulata) Mate Choice Based on Variations of Caudal Fin Size

Abstract

Mate choice is the process that many species use to non-randomly select a mate based on their preferences of characteristics, which then results in sexual selection. Poecilia reticulata males go for females that best suit their interest, usually including larger caudal fins. This study was done to test the variations of caudal fins from tiny to huge to test what males prefer in a mate. For this experiment we used a variety of past data from the Biol 1114 guppy database. Using this data, we compared several different results for each group. We then took the average amounts of mating behaviors from grey guppies to see which caudal fin depth of females that male guppies preferred. Our results showed that male guppies favored the females with the larger caudal fin depths over the control caudal finned female. This study was preformed to help scientist better understand the affect caudal fins have on the mating process.