Mate choice in mollies

Jennifer Place

I am doing honors research with Amazon and Sailfin Mollies. I am interested in male mate choice in the Sailfin Mollies. Many studies have shown that male Sailfins prefer conspecific Sailfin female over the asexual, heterospecific Amazon Molly. Other studies have shown no preference. However, the Amazon Molly mating system is dependent upon male choice. I am interested in how male preference changes when a cost is involved. I would predict that when males have to spend more energy to get to the female, they will show a greater preference for conspecific females over heterospecifics. In my experiment, males will be made to swim against a current to get to the female. I expect that the energy the male spends will alter with the female's value. To this end, I will vary the female species, size, and quality in my experiment. I may also show videos of different audiences to see how they affect male choice. Such audiences would be other males, predators, Amazon females or Sailfin females.

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