SEXUAL CONFLICT AS A CONSEQUENCE OF ECOLOGY - EVIDENCE FROM GUPPY, POECILIA-RETICULATA, POPULATIONS IN TRINIDAD

An investigation of the behaviour of guppies, Poecilia reticulata, in the wild reveals that sexual conflict varies markedly in different hab itats. Males from high-predation sites in Trinidad (where the pike cic hlid Crenicichia alta occurs) engage in less antipredator behaviour th an females, have lower foraging rates than males from low-risk sites a nd are able to devote a greater proportion of their time to pursuing f emales and attempting sneaky matings. As a result, females in such loc ations receive approximately one sneaky mating attempt per minute. Fem ale behaviour in high-predation sites is thus constrained not only by their own predator avoidance but also by sexual harassment which is it self an indirect consequence of risk. Sexual harassment is likely to c ompromise female choice and may have significant evolutionary conseque nces.