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MALE RARITY OR NOVELTY, FEMALE CHOICE BEHAVIOR, AND SEXUAL SELECTION IN THE GUPPY, POECILIA RETICULATA PETERS (PISCES: POECILIIDAE)

Female choice of competing males is implicit in any discussion of sexual selection (Darwin, 1871). It is relatively easy to find evidence, either morphological or behavioral, of intermale competition, but establishing that female choice, and hence sexual selection, is operating, is usually a more difficult matter. Because females generally invest more in brood production, they are more conservative in mating, with males competing among themselves to mate with as many females as possible (Trivers, 1972). Among species, the greater the disparity in parental investment, the higher the tendency for males to be promiscuous. Hence, in species where males contribute very little to production and rearing of offspring, intermale competition and sexual selection become more intense, and behavioral and morphological manifestations of intrasexual competition are more apparent. It only remains to establish the role of the female in choosing among competing males. The number of species in which sexual selection has been shown or implicated is too great to be reviewed adequately here. The recent volume edited by Campbell (1972) will serve to acquaint the reader with examples from many taxonomic groups. One type of sexual selection, frequency-dependent mate selection (i.e. rare male advantage), will be considered since it has direct bearing on the present study. In frequency-dependent selection, females