One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish: The effect of female color on male guppy sexual selection

Erin Massey, Zach Lewis, Heath Moorman, Ashlyn Mullin, Elizabeth Dawkins

Abstract


Sexual selection in many species can be determined by many factors, such as size, shape and color of the mate being chased. For this lab we looked at female mate selection of male Poecilia reticulata, commonly known as guppies, to determine if the color of the female can influence whether or not the male fish chooses to attempt to attract and mate with a certain female. Overall, little evidence supported a stronger preference of one color fish over the other during our trials, which could be influenced by stress felt by our male fish during trials, as well as long standing evolutionary factors that affect a fish’s fitness and therefore mating preferences.


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References


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