Animal Sacrifices

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guppy

Emily K

on April 15, 2007

Male guppies are well-known for their large and colorful fins. Female guppies are not so flamboyant, and they prefer to mate with the most colorful males. However, a male guppy’s colors don’t only attract female guppies; they attract predators as well. Guppies in high-predator areas tend to be less colorful, and guppies in low-predator areas have evolved larger and flashier colors. The guppies with less color survive better, but reproduce much less frequently. Guppies have a wide range of predators, from cichlids that eat about three guppies per hour, to the rivulus, that eats about one guppy every five hours.