Mate Preference with Background Color Interference in Guppies

In a variety of species, females choose mates on the basis of traits such as male body size, ornamentation, courtship vigor or morphological symmetry. In general, the two sexes have very different reproductive strategies, females being more discriminating in their choice of mates than males are. For example, Bateman (1948) observed that male fruit flies try to mate with almost any female, whereas females tend to interact with a number of males before they allow one to mate. These sex differences in mating tactics are probably related to sex differences in the costs of making poor mating choices. Compared to males, females typically incur greater reproductive costs (egg production, gestation, incubation, lactation), and as a result, females run the risk of paying a greater cost for making poor mate choices (Trivers 1972). Consequently, females often choose carefully among potential mates, and males display vigorously to attract females. (For further explanation see chapter 6 and 7 in Dugatikin).