Flashy Fish Lab
Aim: To what degree do predation and sexual selection affect guppy coloration?
Hypothesis:
If the predation is high then the coloration is low which means there will be more reproductive success.
Because colorful organisms get more seen by predators which more likely results in death. So in the
experiment the predation will be high and 80% of the guppies will be bright and 20% will be drab. After
10 generations it will change so about 75% will be drab and 25% will be colorful. This is because the
female guppies like the colorful guppies more than the drab, however the predators see the colorful
guppy more which means that it will chase and find it more than the drab guppies. This means that the
drab guppies will survive more compared to the colorful guppies.
Data collection:
# of generations
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Brightest
25%
44%/ 47.52 - 48
34%/35.8 - 36
46%/54.87 - 55
39%/51.33 - 51
34%/40.26 - 40
20%/20.18 - 20
7%/6.90 - 7
3%/2.97 - 3
2%/2.00 - 2
Bright
25%
22%/23.76 - 24
23%/24.27 - 24
14%/16.70 - 17
5%/6.58 - 7
11%/13.02 - 13
11%/11.10 - 11
10%/9.85 - 10
15%/14.85 - 15
8%/8.03 - 8
Drab
25%
22%/23.76 - 24
25%/26.38 - 26
22%/26.24 - 26
31%/40.80 - 41
33%/39.08 - 39
28%/28.26 - 28
43%/42.39 - 42
49%/48.53- 49
43%/42.59 - 43
Processing and presenting data:
Predator affects amount of drabness
Drabbest
25%
11%/11.88 - 12
18%/19
18%/17
24%/31.58 - 32
22%/26.05 - 26
32%/32.30 - 32
40%/39.43 - 39
32%/31.69 - 32
48%/47.54 - 48
# of guppies
100
108
114
136
179
212
214
211
209
210
Generation 10
Generation 9
Generation 8
Generation 7
Drabbest
Generation 6
Drab
Generation 5
Bright
Generation 4
Brightest
Generation 3
Generation 2
Generation 1
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Predator affects amount of drabness
60
50
40
30
20
Brightest
Bright
Drab
10
Drabbest
0
Conclusion
The amount of predators affect the amount of colorful guppies. Looking at generation two, the
amount of bright guppies where 48% and 12% of the guppies were drab. After 5 or so
generations the amount of drab guppies have doubled this is because the guppies are adapting
to their environment filled with predators. After 10 generations there are almost no bright
guppies left this is because the environment is filled with predators. The results do support the
hypothesis because the bright guppies decreased in amount while the drab guppies increased
in amount when there where predators in the area. Guppies need to adapt to their
environment because they are possibly the lowest on the food chain. They have no way to
defend themselves against predators except for their color. And the results from this tests
prove that this is so. Even though the females tend to mate more with the bright males, the
drab ones survive. Which in the end means that when all of the bright guppies die the females
have to mate with the drab guppies.
Evaluation
The hypothesis was valid because it included the independent and the dependent variable.
Also, it had quantitative information which made it possible to measure.
Weaknesses
Only had one trial
The data table wasn’t completely accurate
Improvement
Write a more detailed conclusion
Get a more accurate data table