Sex and the Single Guppy Simulation

1. If being flashy and colorful attracts predators, why do you think guppies are so colorful?
Being flashy and colorful also helps the guppies attract mates, so if they can survive while being colorful, the guppies will mate and pass on those survival traits.


2. After viewing the guppy gallery, pick the fish you find most interesting. What is the fish’s scientific name, origin and average size? Describe the coloration of the fish you chose.

I particularly liked the poecilia reticulata, a 1.4" male from Brazil. It's a very interesting combination of colors, including black, yellow, green, white, and red. The colors are splotched throughout the fish.

3. After viewing the predator gallery, pick the fish you find most interesting. What is the fish’s common name, scientific name, and origin?

I liked the fat sleeper, also known as dormitator maculatus, from Southern North America, Bahamas, and Latin America.

4. View the guppy’s habitats, what habitat conditions would affect the predator populations?

Shallow pools would be very hard for predators to get into, and the only ones that would make it there would be weak predators. Small dams prevent many predators from going upstream, and large dams stop almost all predators. A section of a stream, however, allows both guppies and predators to move freely. Finally, small trickling streams could prevent larger predators from moving in.

5. Who is John Endler? What did he study and where did he study it?
John Endler was an evolutionary biologist who studied wild guppies in Trinidad streams.

6. For each of the three stream areas, describe the guppy coloration:

Pool 1: Many spots, bright, multi-colored

Pool 2: Medium spots, medium coloring

Pool 3: Drab colors, few spots, spots concentrated around tail


7. Develop your own hypothesis about guppy coloration. The hypothesis should answer the questions: Why do guppies in different areas of the stream have difference in coloration? (You can choose from the list on the simulation, or make up your own)

Guppies in different areas of the stream have different coloration because their different numbers or kinds of predators influences their coloring differently.

Trial 1
Guppy: Mostly Bright
Predators: 30 Rivulus, 30 Acara, 30 Cichlid

0% of Brightest Guppies (10 generations)
2% of Bright Guppies(10 generations)
4% of Drab Guppies(10 generations)
94% of Drabbest Guppies(10 generations)

FROM CHART:

Trial 2
Guppy: Even Mix
Predators: 30 Rivulus

60% of Brightest Guppies (10 generations)
9% of Bright Guppies(10 generations)
18% of Drab Guppies(10 generations)
13% of Drabbest Guppies(10 generations)

Trial 3
Guppy: Even Mix
Predators: 30 Rivulus, 30 Acara

8% of Brightest Guppies (10 generations)
70% of Bright Guppies(10 generations)
22% of Drab Guppies(10 generations)
0% of Drabbest Guppies(10 generations)

Trial 4
Guppy: Even Mix
Predators: 30 Rivulus, 30 Acara, 30 Cichlid

2% of Brightest Guppies (10 generations)
0% of Bright Guppies(10 generations)
9% of Drab Guppies(10 generations)
90% of Drabbest Guppies(10 generations)

Trial 5
Guppy: Mostly Bright
Predators: 30 Rivulus

75% of Brightest Guppies (10 generations)
20% of Bright Guppies(10 generations)
4% of Drab Guppies(10 generations)
1% of Drabbest Guppies(10 generations)

Trial 6
Guppy: Mostly Drab
Predators: 30 Rivulus, 30 Acara, 30 Cichlid

0% of Brightest Guppies (10 generations)
4% of Bright Guppies(10 generations)
12% of Drab Guppies(10 generations)
84% of Drabbest Guppies(10 generations)

8. Describe how predators influence guppy coloration.

The more predators there are, the less brightly colored guppies because the guppies don't want to attract attention.

9. Was your hypothesis correct, use your data to justify your answer.

My hypothesis was correct, because more predators made the number of brighter guppies drop, while drabber guppies became less prominent when there were few predators.
10. What does it mean that “male guppies live in a crossfire between their enemies and their would be mates”?

Male guppies can be harmed either direction they go color-wise. Bright colors attract mates and predators, while drab colors attract neither.

11. Why do you think guppies in different areas of the stream have different coloration?

Different areas of the stream have different predator numbers, affecting the coloring of the guppies.

12. What would happen to mostly drab guppies that were placed in a stream with very few predators?

Mostly drab guppies placed in a stream with few predators would become very flashy in time because of the low threat.

13. What would happen to brightly colored guppies that were placed in a stream with many predators?

Brightly colored guppies placed in a stream with many predators would eventually become drab due to the danger of having attention drawn to them.

Conservation for the People Summary

The Conservation for the People article in Scientific American was simple, yet it got its point across. It basically started out by stating that trying to preserve biodiversity for its own sake is pointless, and not working well. It then went on to say that focusing on protecting environments vital to humans is the way to go. These environments included forests, wetlands, mangroves, and reefs, all of which are helpful to humans. The author summed the article up by saying that saving these particular sites will preserve biodiversity and give humans the upper hand, as well. The author of this article definitely believes biodiversity should be viewed anthropocentrically, all the way.

Biodiversity

1) Preserving local biodiversity can affect global biodiversity because there are many Community Conserved Areas (CCAs) and officially-designated protected areas throughout the world, some of which are sacred forests or areas that support livelihoods, which local communities can conserve, thus preserving areas of huge significance all over the world.

2) Let's say that a certain environment heavily depends on a forest. If humans cut down the forest, or otherwise affect it, then all the organisms living in those trees or depending on them for food will no longer have the ability to survive in their habitat. It's a domino effect. The trees fall, then the food sources fall, followed by herbivores, followed by carnivores, going on and on down the line until the area dies out.

3) "… In Indian Agriculture, women use up to 150 different species of plants (which the biotech industry would call weeds) as medicine, food, or fodder. For the poorest, this biodiversity is the most important resource for survival. … What is a weed for Monsanto is a medicinal plant or food for rural people." -Vandana Shiva, Stolen Harvest, (South End Press, 2000), pp. 70-71, 104-105.

If the Indian women lost just one of those plants, the results could be catastrophic. Many cultures depend on very fragile species that make life for people easier or better in some way. In the case of the "weeds" in Indian agriculture, every single one of them is critical in some way. By preserving this area's biodiversity, the residents' lives can be better.