Female Guppies

In an article by Lee Alan Dugatkin and Jean Guy J. Godin they discuss how women unknowingly select their mates based on what they believe to be their choices and personal preferences, but really their choices stem from their subconscious and biological pre-programing. One of the examples that are given in the article is how vibrant colors, although not evolutionarily smart in terms of camouflage, are effective when it comes to finding a mate. Like for instance guppies and peacocks, the males possess these vibrant, bright colors to attract females and innately that is what the females look for. The more colorful the male, the more likely the female will choose him to breed with because to them the brighter the males are the stronger their genes are and the more possible it is that their offspring will survive and continue passing on their genes (Dugatkin et Godin,

Mate choice is a product of mate preferences form in the environment of evolutionary adaptiveness (EEA). Sexual selection suggests that females prefer males who they can gain benefits from such as gifts. This is shown in male birds who make nests for females in order to mate with them and also in insects who give nuptial gifts.

In his article, The Strategies of Finding a Mate, David M. Buss discusses the act of finding a mate and the characteristics that people are drawn to in a mate. He begins the article with a brief look at the history of mating and the theories that have previously been proposed. In particular he addressed Charles Darwin’s theory of sexual evolution and belief in preferential mate choice. Buss proposes that there are three components to human mating. He states that “human mating is inherently strategic… mating strategies are context-dependent… [and that] men and women have faced different mating problems over the course of human evolution and, as a consequence, have evolved different strategies” (Buss, 1994, p. 241). He uses this theory to propose nine different hypotheses to prove that despite humans being varied and different from each other, all humans look for similar characteristics when trying to find a mate (Buss, 1994).

In this chapter, Orr and Zuk explains the importance of ornaments of males and the mechanism behind sexual selection. The questions that they seek to answer involve the fact that why are the males fighting during mating season, and the ones with the colorful ornaments. In both human and animal relationship, there are many similarities, such as the fact that the male fights for the female such as their masculinity or traits that females look for whether an animal or a human. Darwin in The Origin explained that sexual selection involves competition, but for mating instead of fighting for survival, in The Descent went on to explain the relevance of the traits like the peacock tails.

Darwin's theory of sexual selection is an intriguing one because it offers an explanation of human striving and cultural value systems. The theory is that humans who are more sexually desirable will have more offspring and thus their traits will be passed on to future generations to a greater extent than those of less sexually desirable humans. As opposed to Darwin's other theory, natural selection, those who are the best adapted to their environment will be more likely to pass on their genes, or, "survival of the fittest", you might call sexual selection "survival of the sexiest." The theory is intended to in part explain why, when humans diverged from other primates, the human brain tripled in size

The aforementioned influences eventually lead to the field of evolutionary psychology in which the common view is that both physical and mental organs developed through natural selection. Biases in how our brains perceive, process, and react to the world around us can either contribute to our survival or to the reason we 'die out '. Such biases affect our social behavior and status, sexual selection, and gender relations (Wright, 2010). Presently, evolutionary psychology has become an interest in popular culture which in turn influences the subject matter studied in this field. It provides plausible reasons for an array of human behaviors which sparks interest. People want to know why men have aggressive tendencies or why some will risk their lives to help those with no benefit to themselves. 'Survival of the fittest ' has become a commonly used phrase and Charles Darwin is no secret.

Have you ever noticed that most animals of the same species look completely different in that some are more beautiful than others? Some fish have vibrant colored ornate tails while others do not. Some birds have an array of radiant colors while others are dull and drab; their feathers usually consisting of one monotone color. Science has discovered that gender plays a key role in the selection of physical qualities. It has been identified that animals of male gender have more dynamic physical characteristics than the female gender. Female animals are usually one drab color, without any significant physical qualities. This concept is called sexual selection. What exactly is the concept of sexual selection, and what is its purpose in the animal kingdom?

Sexual Selection is a powerful evolutionary process, for those unable to attract or gain access to the opposite sex, risk being eliminated from the population (Apostolou). The theory of sexual selection was introduced by Charles Darwin in his book The Descent of Man, in which he explains, that selecting a mate is not a random process, and it is key to evolution, for it depends on which individuals have advantage over the rest of the same specie (Stanford 99). In sexual selection, males compete between one another to gain access to a mate, and females choose particular promising mates that demonstrate trait variability, so that their future offspring will have a higher chance of survival (Stanford 99). Male individuals have to demonstrate power, who can conquer the most, ability to survive and provide protection, among other characteristics that will make him the right mate for a female. And Females, must consider their options, since they want high quality genes for their future children (Angeloni 77). Therefore, as a female, I am seeking for specific characteristics in a mate, such as a lean body build, healthy white teeth, and height—he must be over 5’6. I seek for those traits in a mate to further add trait variability in my future offspring, which will help adapt, live longer, and reproduce in the future.

Mate choice involves a variety of behaviors and tasks. Female choice of mates is a key part of traditional sexual selection. Some individuals choose mates based upon things such as size and age(Leonard, 2006). There is evidence that suggests that individual organisms and species may choose their mates depending upon the amount of sperm that is released from the male. Male individuals produce more sperm with other individuals who were previously abandoned(Leonard, 2006). This suggests that some individuals prefer low sperm competition during sexual selection. It has been said that females choose mates on the basis of their mates being compatible with their own genotype. On the contrary, some male individuals don’t choose mates according to age and size. They would rather mate with females who are closer to reproduction(Galipaud et al.,2015). This could be beneficial for male organisms because regardless of the age and size of the individual that they mate with, it is an increased probability that they will have successful offspring. Mate choice may also be dependent upon direct and indirect social information(Kavaliers et al.,

Without even realizing it, we as humans everyday pick out various types of characteristics in each other defining in what we want in a mate. In the Discovery Channel’s show, “Science of Sex Appeal” we are shown various different types of reasonings which make us attracted to certain people. An example of this is when four people were set to walk on a treadmill. During this experiment, two of the people, who were male and female, were asked to walk normally. The second set of people were asked to also walk on a treadmill, but were told they would be recorded and rated on their sexual attractiveness.

In the wild the Poecilia reticulata or the guppy brightly colored males are more likely to be eaten by a predator because they are visible. Although guppies that are more brightly colored are prayed upon more often than those guppies that are not their bright color is beneficial in attracting mates. Humans, plants, and animals compete amongst themselves not only for water, territory, and sunlight but also for the ability to reproduce. Sexual selection is necessary for a population to survive. In the case of the brightly colored guppy, it uses his phenotype in order to pass his genes to the next generation. The female guppy is known to choose bright males over those who are not for many particular reasons. They might indicate the presence of

The most important of factors in this practice are the preferences of those selecting mates. Mate preferences have a scientific importance for several reasons. Mate preferences for instance determine whoever is chosen or excluded. This therefore influences the current direction of sexual selection. Mate preferences also determine which members of the opposite sex are high or low in value. In turn, this influences various variables ranging from social status and desirability of the selected mate. The mate preferences of one sex also conversely influence retention techniques effective on members of the other gender. Such tactics substantiate the wants of the person, one is attempting to retain or attract. Another importance of mate preferences is the fact that some of them might be adaptations that might have psychologically developed over time. Such preferences represent crucial solutions to fundamental mating challenges such as selecting a fertile mate or one able and willing to invest in an offspring. The preferences of one’s mate might also reveal crucial cultural values that when interrogated over a certain period of time document the evolution of various cultural values (Chang, 2010). As such, mate preference is the first step in the process of mate selection which aptly determines one’s choice of a mate. As such, it is impossible to understand mate selection in a certain population without understanding patterns in mate preferences. Mate preferences are especially important in Asian cultures where they are traditionally passed on from one generation to the other. As one grows older, the preferred mates by parents are passed on. As such, one eventually chooses a mate who is more or less agreeable to the entire family. As such, it is imperative to approach and understand the process of mate selection as an interactive process that is subject to disparate factors and circumstances (Chang,

Eventually, as technology advances, researchers are able to gather data to distinguish the more in-depth characteristics of Sexual Selection. They found out that Sexual Selection is more complex than just males developing traits to attract females in hope of reproduction. Dr. Emily Brown of Cambridge University claims that “it is the selection for traits that are solely concerned with increasing the mating success of an individual”. Modern biologists have concluded that Sexual Selection is not limited by sex. Both females and males of a species can develop traits to help their chances of reproduction. Dr. Robert Trivers from Harvard University claims that the involvement in parenthood has an influence on selection. He explains that females

The primary evolutionary reason behind mating and sex is to have successful offspring. For this reason, women are meticulous in their mate selection. Height is one of the many traits women view as having a high mate value. Women often choose taller men as their partners because of the many benefits there are with being tall. Taller men are commonly seen as being more attractive to women, and both men and women desire relationships where the man is taller. Tall men rather than shorter men indicate better genes and health overall. Tall men are perceived as more dominate and assertive than shorter men. Being tall is associated with socioeconomic status and better access to resources. Height qualities in men also yields the result of greater lifetime

Another evolutionary explanation of gender development is mate choice, which suggests that gender role behaviours are related to reproductive strategies. It is thought that men will look for women who are young whereas women are usually more interested in the resources of a mate. This can be explained from an evolutionary perspective as mating with a physically attractive woman