Male guppies’ (Poecilia reticulata) sexual preference for brightly colored 3D female fish models

Abstract

Sexual preference in animals varies depending on species and their physical characteristics and mating behaviors. In this investigation we experimented with guppies to collect data over how male guppies select females to mate with and what behavior they are more likely to display. We conducted this experiment to test our hypothesis that male guppies will be influenced by the physical characteristics of female guppies such as color and gravidity when choosing a mating partner. To conduct our experiment we followed the methods of a previous experiment conducted in the Journal of Introductory Biology Investigations that tested how a live male guppy chose a female plastic fish model. We then conducted the same experiment but used different female fish models than what were called for in the previously performed experiment. Our results overwhelmingly showed that male guppies chose the brighter colored and non-gravid female models rather than the control colored fish models or gravid fish models. Based off of our results, we believe that male guppies might choose brighter colored females because they may appear to be more physically fit.