Guppies.
Did you know guppy males employ wing men? So guppy guys hang out with less attractive guppy guys to attract females. How do you like those apples?
From Australian Geographic:
Guppies Hang with Ugly Friends to Look Hotter.
“IF YOU FOUND YOURSELF all alone on Valentine’s day, maybe the problem is that you’re hanging out with the wrong people – or the wrong fish. A new study has found that given the choice, male guppies will socialise with other, less attractive males to maximise their chance of mating.
“This finding, published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal, may explain why guppy populations haven’t evolved to consist of only brightly coloured males.
“We have shown for the first time that males are really able to choose the most appropriate [social] context that maximises their attractiveness,” says co-author Dr Clelia Gasparini, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Western Australia in Perth.
“Researchers have long known that female guppies (Poecilia reticulata) compare their suitors, opting for the most colourful males. And while it was suspected that males could exploit this by choosing a social group that made them stand out from the crowd, until now there has been no hard evidence of the behaviour.
“Clelia and her collaborators observed the behaviour when they presented individual male guppies with a choice of two females, each surrounded by a group of males.”
Another study by a CSU student: The Impact of Predation Risk on Boldness in Guppies- Sex Matters.
According to the young researcher, female guppies are much bolder than males.
“Half the guppies were raised with constant predator cues (the smell of a predator) and half without. The females were equally as bold whether they were raised in the predator environment. While the males raised without the predator smell were bolder than the males who were raised with it.”
But you already knew that, right? Females are much more courageous than males!
No, Julia, I did not know that guppy males employ wing men, i.e., less attractive guppy guys to make them look more attractive to females. But somehow I counted on you to tell me this, since it’s obviously important.
But I have questions: if they employed wing men, how did they pay them…what’s the going guppy rate for a wing man? And what if a female guppy saw through all the color and was drawn to the guppy with less color but more muscles and a bigger brain and better listening skills, would that wing man guppy have to give back the money…or whatever he was paid?
It’s snowing outside, again, with another 12″ forecast, and while it really is gorgeous and will be fun to sled in tomorrow, can you tell I’m verging on cabin fever and taking it out on guppy mating practices?
Oooh, Marylin, you are getting a little cabin fever! C’mon out here for some sunshine! Planted more of my garden this weekend!
Now, about those guppies… I think they’re smarter than dogs because dogs don’t discriminate when it comes to ugly. Horses are another story. There are geeks in the horse world. There are cool horses and there are uncool horses and everyone wants to pal around with the cool horses.
But what about guppies? Where do they rank in the cool horses vs. dogs lineup? And What about guppy wing men?
(Sorry, Julia, couldn’t resist; forget I asked…you’re right, cabin fever…)
I suspect guppies are more like birds, Marylin. The prettiest plumage makes the best eye candy.
I love that the male guppy has a wing man…yes, women are more courageous.
Ripley , that’s all I have to say …..
apart from maybe both Jules and Marylin have cabin fever
Oh and Jules is courageous too, or daft, she came to stay with us on the strength of a few tweets I may have been a Dexter like ( I only know he is some kind of murderer with a bit of a conscience, never actually seen an episode of it) madman!
and then there was this
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/mixed-martial-arts-rousey-carmouche-deliver-women-everywhere-102412659.html
Tom, my husband and my daughters are totally into her. I can’t stand fighting.
No worries, Tom. I knew you weren’t Dexter. Besides I trust Ishbel 100% AND you have cute grandchildren!
Me too, Amber! It’s so trans-species of them!
Heh. The hunk and I raised zillions of guppies when we were first married. Yep, the fanciest, showiest males got the gals. And we all knew females are braver. Otherwise, this would be an empty planet… wouldn’t it?
Oooh, from a woman who knows firsthand, Anny. I like it!