What Competition: Male-male competition effect on male guppy reproductive behavior

Abstract

Guppies, like all animals, mate and reproduce. Like most species, guppies perform courtship that is vital to a single guppy’s ability to reproduce with physical characteristics, such as color and size, being of utmost importance. These two factors have been heavily experimented, while the effect of other males in the tank has not been. For this experiment, we 3D printed an orange male model and sought to determine its effect on the male guppy in the water when a female model was also present. We hypothesized that the male guppies will display more sexual behavior towards the female when in the presence of another male due to increased competition. Our results do not support our hypothesis, thus showing that males are seemingly not effected by male-male competition.