Sex, Color, and Mate Choice in Guppies

by Anne Houde

The Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is well known to biologists and home aquarium enthusiasts alike. Scientists have studied guppies for most of the twentieth century. Some of the most intensive recent research has been conducted by behavioral ecologists, who have found that the guppy mating system makes guppies especially useful in the study of sexual selection and mate choice. By observing guppy behavior in aquaria, researchers...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691027897
• ISBN13: 9780691027890
• Release Date: August 1997
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

So much more than guppies

Anne Houde's book is not only about sex and mate choice in guppies, but is a profound review of the state of knowledge in sexual selection and mate choice evolution in the late 1990's. Her chapters on models of mate choice evolution in particular are among the clearest and most even handed treatments of a rather complex and difficult field. This book will be of immense value to anyone interested in the evolution and ecology of sexual reproduction and mate choice. It is of extra value to "guppyologists" because of the way Houde reviews all of the techniques used in different labs, and for the fantastic "to do" list of future research questions that she offers.