The Effect of Vibrant Coloration on the Sexual Preferences of Male Poecilia reticulata

Abstract

Since guppies, Poecilia Reticulata, are small animals with easily identifiable behaviors and have a variety of colors and sizes, they were used to test how different colors would affect the sexual attraction of male guppies on female guppies. For this experiment, a 3D printed female guppy with a neon pink coloration was used to monitor the male guppy’s sexual attraction to brightly colored female guppies. To see if the male guppy preferred the flashier model, a separate control white model was also placed into the scenario. By completing this experiment, it’s seen that the male guppy displayed no behavioral differences on any of the 3D printed female guppies. This does not support our hypothesis, since the behavior of the male guppies were inconclusive because of no consistent reaction throughout all of the trials.