Female mating preferences for colourful males in a population of guppies subject to high predation

Female guppies Poecilia reticulata descended from the Tacarigua population in Trinidad subject to high predation exhibited strong preferences for males with relatively high levels of carotenoid colouration. The study, which controlled for differences in male courtship, revealed that mate choice in this population is based on the expression of orange pigmentation,, irrespective of differences in male motivation. (C) 2004 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.