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© 1997 International Society for Behavioral Ecology

research-article

Prior exposure to male phenotypes influences mate choice in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata

Gunilla Rosenqvista and Anne Houdeb

a Department of Biological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA, b Department of Biology, Lake Forest College, 555 North Sheridan Road, Lake Forest, IL 60045-2399, USA

ABSTRACT

This study examined the effect of experience on the pattern of mate choice in female guppies. Females from some natural populations are known to discriminate among males on the basis of the relative area of orange in the color pattern. We exposed maturing female guppies to groups of males that differed in phenotvpic distribution of orange coloration (high orange, low orange, and mixed) and tested their subsequent mating preferences. Females that had been exposed to high-orange or low-orange male groups showed no discrimination in choice tests, but females exposed to mixed male groups favored high-orange males over low-orange males. These results demonstrate that mating preferences of females can be modified depending on prior experience. Females may be able to adjust their pattern of mate choice depending on the degree to which choice cues permit effective discrimination among males. This potential for short-term modification of mate choice patterns could affect the evolutionary outcome of sexual selection

Key words: early experience, guppy, mate choice, Poscilia reticulata, sexual selection.


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