Effect of female guppy (Poecilia reticulate) body length on male guppy mating preferences

Abstract

Several factors influence male mating preferences in Poecilia reticulate such as color, size, and health. However, the exact mechanisms behind mate choice remains unknown and the Center for the Study of Sexual Selection in Fishes is exploring this area to understand mating behaviors more clearly. While several studies have looked into overall body size of female guppies and how it influences male mate choice, none have looked specifically at body length. We chose to test how female body length affected male mating preference, and hypothesized that the male guppies would prefer the shorter females based off of previous literature. We found that our hypothesis was supported/unsupported???