Sexual selection indicators in male guppy mate preference

Abstract

Recent ethological studies have shown that sexual selection can play a large role in determining the coloration of animals, proposing a few hypotheses to why this is true. One of the proposed hypotheses is the healthy mate theory, which states that males and females select their mates based on their apparent health status. Many experiments reveal a typical female preference for brightly colored male mates; however, the factors that determine male preference are less understood.