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Drab Guppies Research Paper

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The color variation of Venezuelan Guppies results from a difference between traits that are beneficial for survival and those that are beneficial for reproduction. While females are more attracted to bright males, predators limit the population of bright males from the top down. Therefore, the population of Venezuelan Guppies differ in color due to the presence, or lack of, predators.

One may claim that the color variation is a result of turbulence. Since turbulence is higher, (27.50-36.25 NTU) in pool one where there are many drab fish, 41, than in pool four (3.00-8.75 NTU) where there are few drab fish, 5. Unfortunately, pools three and four have the same turbidity (3.00-8.75 NTU), but different amounts of drab male fish, ten in pool three and five in pool four; demonstrating that turbidity is probably not a relevant variable, since variation of color can occur without variation in turbulence. …show more content…

This can be seen in pool one, which has the highest amount of predators (28) and the highest number of drab guppies (102). There, bright guppies are more likely to be seen and consequently eaten by predators. If bright fish are more likely to be eaten, they are less likely to survive. When a guppie does not survive it can not reproduce, and the prevalence of its traits decrease in the population. This is why there are so few bright guppies upstream, in pools one and

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