Mate Choice of male Poecilia reticulata: Does Size Really Matter?

Abstract

We studied mating behaviors of male guppy fish (Poecilia reticulata) in response of size on two different models. We wanted to see if male guppies prefer a larger female when it comes to courting. We tested this by placing two models, one being larger than the other into an aquarium occupied by a male guppy. Our hypothesis was partially supported, our results showed that on average more time spent with our control model than with the experimental model, but showed more sexual behaviors toward the experimental model. A possible explanation for this is that not all male guppies probably have the same preference when it comes to mating, causing our results to not correlate with each other.