Spot on: Determining Whether A Gravid Spot on Female Models Leads to More Displays of Mating Behaviors in Male Guppies

Abstract

Our study investigates whether male guppies prefer mates that have a gravid spot, which indicates that the female has mated before. Using a special presenting apparatus, we placed two 3D printed models of guppies, one with a gravid spot and one without. in a tank prepared with hormones and containing a male guppy. We recorded how much time the male guppies spent on each side of the tank and how many times they performed mating behaviors. On average, the male guppies spent more time with the model that had the gravid spot. The male guppies also exhibited more mating behaviors towards the model with the gravid. Because of these results, we concluded that our hypothesis was supported.