The Behaviors of Male Guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in the Presence of Bright and Dark Colored Female Decoys

Abstract

In all species reproduction is part of fitness and life. In most reproductive rituals, it is the male that is competing for a female in order to pass on their genes. Are males picky about the females that they mate with? What makes a female attractive? What make the competition worth it? These are questions that scientists wonder while observing streams that are home to guppy (Poecilia reticulata) populations. To try and answer these questions, we chose to conduct an experiment testing the female color preference of male guppies. We hypothesized that the male guppies would be more attracted to the bright colored females. In this experiment we observed the behaviors of male guppies and recorded them using a Guppy Data Collector software. Based on our results our hypothesis was supported and the male guppy was more attracted to a bright neon green model instead of a dark sparkly black model.