Guppy Simulation Questions

1. Maybe the guppies are colorful for mating purposes, or to attract some sort of even smaller prey.

2. Poecilia Reticulata, Brazil, 1.4". The guppy is bright yellow, blue, green, and red.

3. Pike Cichlid, Crenicichla Alta, Trinidad and Latin America, up to 1 foot

4. Water extremely shallow wouldn't be able to sustain large predators. Large dams also prevent predators from eating the guppies. In streams and other quickly moving bodies of water, guppies are at high risk of being eaten.

5. John Endler was an evolutionary biologist in the 1970s. He studied behavior patterns in Trinidad's native guppies.

6. Pool 1: The guppies have large spots and have many bright colors. They look particularly orange.
Pool 2: The guppies have medium sized spots, and medium bright coloring. They are black and gray with some orange.
Pool 3: The guppies have little spots and are very drably colored.

7. If there are many predators present, then the guppies will be drably colored, as to not attract unwanted attention. The opposite would be true of safer areas.

Trial 1

Guppy: Even Mix
Predators: 30 Rivulus

% of brightest guppies- 48%
% of bright guppies- 30%
% of drab guppies- 20%
% of drabbest guppies- 2%

Trial 2

Guppy: Even Mix
Predators: 30 Rivulus, 30 Acara

% of brightest guppies- 13%
% of bright guppies- 58%
% of drab guppies- 29%
% of drabbest guppies- 0%

Trial 3

Guppy: Even Mix
Predators: 30 Rivulus, 30 Acara, 30 Cichlid

% of brightest guppies- 0%
% of bright guppies- 12%
% of drab guppies- 57%
% of drabbest guppies- 31%

Trial 4

Guppy: Mostly Bright
Predators: 30 Rivulus

% of brightest guppies-90%
% of bright guppies-8%
% of drab guppies-2%
% of drabbest guppies-0%

Trial 5

Guppy: Mostly Drab
Predators: 30 Rivulus, 30 Acara, 30 Cichlid

% of brightest guppies- 0%
% of bright guppies-0%
% of drab guppies-19%
% of drabbest guppies-81%

8. When there are many predators, the brightest guppies are weeded out and killed, while the drabbest ones flourish. The opposite is true for situations without predators, because the colorful guppies found mates easier.

9. Yes, becuase the drabbest fish survived with many predators and the brightest guppies did not.

10. This means that the guppies need to adapt to their surroundings so that they won't be eaten and will still find a mate.

11. The guppies have different coloration depending on their location in the stream because of the amount of predatory fish living along side them.

12. The drab guppies would be very unfit, because they wouldn't be able to attract a mate.

13. The bright guppies would be easily weeded out by natural selection, because they would be easy for predators to find.