THE EFFECTS OF PREDATOR EXPOSURE ON THE FEMALE CHOICE OF GUPPIES (POECILLA-RETICULATA) FROM A HIGH-PREDATION POPULATION

Studies have shown that, under intense predation, guppy (Poecilia reti culata) populations have evolved duller male colouration and weaker fe male preference for brightly coloured males. Gong & Gibson (1996) foun d that females descended from a low-predation population responded to the presence of a fish predator by becoming less receptive and reversi ng their typical sexual preference for the brighter and more active of a pair of males. Here, I investigated whether this response is more s trongly developed in guppies descended from a captive population expos ed to predation from a natural predator. I measured the social and sex ual preferences of virgin females for a pair of males both before and after visual exposure to a predatory cichlid in an adjacent tank. Fema les initially preferred the more actively displaying male. Exposure to the cichlid caused some females to become unreceptive and the remaind er avoided the previously preferred male. These effects did not differ in magnitude from the responses of females descended from a low-preda tion population (Gong & Gibson, 1996). The avoidance of conspicuous ma les by females seems to be a generalized response to predation risk th at is independent of current predation pressure on a population.