Sex differences in the trade-off between feeding and mating in the guppy

Griffiths, S. W. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6348-7352 1996. Sex differences in the trade-off between feeding and mating in the guppy. Journal of Fish Biology 48 (5) , pp. 891-898. 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1996.tb01484.x

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Abstract

Male guppies Poecilia reticulata court almost continuously and often indulge in sneaky mating attempts. Female guppies, on the other hand, devote much of their time to foraging. This paper demonstrates that both sexes reduce their feeding rate in mixed-sex groups relative to single sex ones and suggests that the decrease is less pronounced for females than for males. Thus males make feeding and mating decisions that are dependent on hunger while female foraging behaviour is constrained by sexual harassment. The observed sex differences in behaviour are a consequence of asymmetrical mating costs in males and females.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Biosciences
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0022-1112
Date of Acceptance:	26 July 1995
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2025 15:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/183001

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