Animal Sciences Commons^™

Familiarity And Its Impacts On Male Mate Preference The Sailfin Molly, Poecilia Latipinna, Abigail Doza, Alyssa Back

Student Symposium

Mating behaviors are an integral part of the life history and ecology of many species. Male mate preferences are an especially understudied area of research. We examined male mate preference for familiar and unfamiliar female fish in the sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna. We hypothesized that males would prefer familiar females as they may have been able to gather additional information concerning the female’s reproductive status. Males were isolated for a minimum of four days and then tested in a choice tank with two females of similar size. After the experiment, each male was randomly assigned to be with one of …