Research Symposium

BIO

My name is Reuven Lurie and I'm from Boynton Beach, Florida. I am currently in my second year studying Biological Science and have a passion for genetics! I find evolution and the genetics behind it fascinating and hope to research it more during my education.

Evolution of Complex Color Patterns in Male Trinidadian Guppies

Abstract

The Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) can be used to study the genetic variation among individuals within a single species. Males of this species have been documented to exhibit a negative frequency-dependent selection (NFDS), which is when rare traits have an evolutionary advantage. Researchers interested in genetic variation are interested in NFDS because it is a type of selection that leads to increased variation, unlike other forms of selection that lead to a decrease in variation over time. In this experiment, we used two genetic lines, IF9 and IF10, which have different color patterns, to test whether NFDS is acting on these color patterns. In half the populations, the IF9 lineage was the initially common male phenotype and in the other half, the IF10 lineage was initially common. The expectation was that over time, the initially rare phenotype would become more common, which would indicate a rare male advantage. The offspring that result from this experiment were analyzed through photographs taken of them, allowing us to identify key phenotypic patterns that classify them as IF9 or IF10. The results of this study will increase our understanding of the amount of genetic diversity that is seen within an individual species.

Keywords: biology, fish, evolution