Concordia University
M.Sc. candidate
Supervisor: James Grant
Grant E. Brown
Grant Brown, Concordia University
Start: 2011-09-06
End: 2013-12-15

Project

The effects of operational sex-ratio and predation risk on the mating competition of the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata
Contest competition is one of the driving forces contributing to natural selection. Within a given species, mating competition will determine which individuals get the most reproductive success. Factors influencing this type of competition have been studied, but in isolation from one another in most cases. The aim of this project is to explore the potential interactions of some of these factors (i.e. operational sex-ratio, sex, chronic and acute predation risk) in a single study using Trinidadian guppies as a model. This will allow a better comprehension of mating competition patterns in the wild, as well as indirectly improve our knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of natural selection.

Keywords

Behavioral Ecology, mating competition, Operational sex ratio, predation risk, sex role, population differences, guppies