How to generate and test hypotheses about colour: insights from half a century of guppy research.

ABSTRACT: Coloration facilitates evolutionary investigations in nature because the interaction between genotype, phenotype and environment is relatively accessible. In a landmark set of studies, Endler addressed this complexity by demonstrating that the evolution of male Trinidadian guppy coloration is shaped by the local balance between selection for mate attractiveness versus crypsis. This became a textbook paradigm for how antagonistic selective pressures may determine evolutionary trajectories in nature. However, recent studies have challenged the generality of this paradigm. Here, we respond to these challenges by reviewing five important yet underappreciated factors that contribute to colour pattern evolution: (i) among-population variation in female preference and correlated variation in male

SUBMITTER: Kemp DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10244973 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature