Effects of Light on Male Poecilia reticulata Mating Behavior

Abstract

               The mating behavior among fish is an area of interest at the Center for the Study of Sexual Selection in Fishes to further understand the interactions of fish with the environment. P. reticulata, also known as the guppy, has become commonly used for this information due to the ease of visibility in their mating actions. Our experiment tested the effect of light on the mating behavior of male P. reticulata. We hypothesized that increasing light conditions would decrease male mating behavior due to environmental predation during high light environments. Two identical female models were placed in a tank with different light conditions, and the mating behavior of the male P. reticulata was recorded. The results showed that fish spent more time in the low light conditions, but had more mating actions in increased light conditions. Further studies should be conducted to test the mating behavior of male P. reticulata in different types of light.