Contextual use of male-male social information by Trinidadian guppies.

ABSTRACT: Decision-making among prey often involves balancing fitness-related activities, such as foraging and mating, with the need to avoid predation. These trade-offs may be influenced by sex, especially among sexually dimorphic species where males and females face different selection pressures. Consistent with the 'Distracted Male Hypothesis', male Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata), may show a reduced response to publicly available personal risk assessment cues (i.e. chemosensory predation risk cues) relative to females due to the relatively high costs associated with lost courtship and mating opportunities. Male guppies may compensate for a reduced response to personal information by increasing their use of conspecifics as a source of social information. Here, we tested this hypothesis

SUBMITTER: Brusseau AJP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12748090 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature