The Effects of 3-D Model Female Guppy Size on Male Mating Preference in Poecilia Reticulata

Abstract

Mate choice is a factor used to study the long evolutionary process of sexual selection. For this study, it was hypothesized that male guppies of the species Poecilia reticulata would prefer a large female model to a control model and a huge female model to a large female model, because the offspring of larger females would have better rates of survival. Live male guppies were placed with three dimensional female models and behaviors of the male guppies toward each model were recorded. The male guppies spent more time with the large guppy model and presented more courtship behaviors to the huge guppy model. There could be a variety of reasons male guppies choose different sized females as mates, one of which could be that the survival of offspring may be increased in larger females.