No tail needed: Mate Choice in Poecilia reticulata

Abstract

In this experiment, we studied the attraction of male Poecilia reticulata to square shaped models of different colors. Our goal was to determine if a male guppy would appear more interested in a model due to its color, even when the model did not resemble a female of the same species. We created two square models, one Neon Orange 120 and one True Blue 109, and inserted them into a tank with the male guppy. We found that on average, the male guppy spent more time on the side of the tank with the blue model and did not present reproductive behavior to either colored model. We did not hypothesize that the guppy would present reproductive behavior or sexual interest in the models. On average the guppies spent the most time in the neutral center, but contrary to our hypothesis spent more time in the region with the blue model than with the orange model. This result goes against our hypothesis because it seems to lead to the fact that the guppy was more interested in a duller colored model, rather than the bright orange option.