Date of Award
3-2018
Culminating Project Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Biological Sciences - Ecology and Natural Resources: M.S.
Department
Biology
College
College of Science and Engineering
First Advisor
Anthony Marcattilio
Second Advisor
Brian Olson
Third Advisor
Nathan Eric Hampton
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
Mate Choice Copying, Poecilia latipinna, Sailfin Mollie, Wild
Abstract
Mate Choice Copying (MCC) is a non-independent sexually selective behavior that is present in Poecilia latipinna (sailfin mollies) and Poecilia reticulata (guppies). Experiments were conducted that show that truly wild sailfin mollies express MCC at a higher percent, while pseudo wild exhibit MCC at a lower percentage. Wild sailfin mollies from Mustang Island in Texas and pseudo wild sailfin mollies (12 generations in captivity) with similar morphology were used as the test subjects for the experiment. The testing apparatus was similar to the apparatus Dukatkin used (1992). The more robust MCC behavior exhibited by the truly wild sailfin mollie females switch to the initially rejected male (IRM) from the initially preferred male (IPM) 22% versus the pseudo wild at 14%. This supports that the Mate Choice Copying behavior is diminished in the captivity from the domestication process.
Recommended Citation
Highley, Kumiko, "Female Mate Choice Copying in Pseudo Wild vs. Truly Wild Poecilia latipinna" (2018). Culminating Projects in Biology. 29.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/biol_etds/29
Comments/Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my committee. Their knowledge and time was valuable and much appreciated. I would like to thank all my professors and mentors in the biology department of Saint Cloud State University. I would also like to thank the helpful people in the statistics department and at the Miller Learning Center. I would like to thank my hard working parents for instilling the importance of education and dedication. I would like to thank my children for their patience and support during this long road. They are the driving force and inspiration for all that I do.