Does Color Really Matter During Guppy Mating Choice?

Abstract

Poecilia reticulata, also known as guppies, have been observed to have varying mating preferences. Color, shape, and size are common factors that influence mating between male and female guppies. Although male and females base their mating preferences on various factors, guppies choose a mating partner based on survival rate (Bouchereau et al 2015). Most of the time, male guppies will be more attracted to larger, brighter female guppies (Crotty et al 2015). Based on this information, our group hypothesized that. To test if the male guppy will show more mating signs towards the female model with the brighter color, we performed a total of nine trials exposing a single male guppy to plastic female models, one being neon orange, one being purple, and the other cool grey. The trials found that the male guppy spent more time by the neon orange model, which means that it was more attracted to the brighter model.