The Trinidadian guppy is well known to biologists and home aquarium enthusiasts alike. This book describes the sexual behaviour of guppies, and examines how mate choice by females leads to the evolution of the conspicuous colours and the courtship displays for which guppies are widely recognized. It shows that female guppies prefer males with bright colour patterns, especially those with orange spots, and that the mating preferences of females lead to a sexual selection of both colour patterns and courtship displays of males.
By:
Anne E. Houde
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 12mm
Weight: 312g
ISBN: 9780691027890
ISBN 10: 0691027897
Series: Monographs in Behavior and Ecology
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 03 November 1997
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
College/higher education
,
Undergraduate
,
Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments1Introduction: The Guppy as a Model System32Reproductive Biology and Sexual Behavior293Choosy Females and Competing Males: Mechanisms of Sexual Selection454Male Courtship Behavior805Evolution of Female Choice 1: Direct Selection, Adaptive Plasticity, and Sensory Drive1046Evolution of Female Choice 2: Indirect Selection, Variation, and Correlations1237Summary and Prospects155AppendixExperimental Methods: How to Build a Better Bordello165References177Author Index201Subject Index205Taxonomic Index209
Anne E. Houde is Assistant Professor of Biology at Lake Forest College.
Reviews for Sex, Color, and Mate Choice in Guppies
[I]mportant to biologists who study guppies, and, like much of the rest of this book ... of interest to researchers into sexual selection in other species as well... [A]n inspiring guide to future directions in behavioural ecology. -- Nature
