reflection 10



Short Tailed Freshwater Pipefish REGULAR - Bluegrassaquatics.com


I believe this courtship of females courting males may have evolved to be this way because females may have been getting too seriously injured during mating, resulting in no or very few offspring being produced. This would cause fitness levels to be very low for males and females. in turn, the fish may have adapted better ways to reproduce without the females being injured during an aggressive mating process. Pipefish are an example of a species where the female courts the male. This means that the roles are also reversed for males and females when it comes to attracting mates. Females are attracted to larger males in order to carry their offspring, and females do a dance to attract the males to choose them. 

I do not think my hypothesis completely aligns with why females court males in the pipefish population. From the reading I have done, it seems that the females court the males because the males have pouches which allows the offspring better protection and safety. The bigger the males, the more likely the female is to choose them because it will offer her offspring more protection. This increased protection means that more offspring will survive, which will in turn increase the fitness of the female. 


Image source:

https://bluegrassaquatics.com/short-tailed-freshwater-pipefish-regular.html


Comments

  1. Madison Zimmerman8 November 2021 at 08:19

    The courtship is very interesting and I think there could be a number of reasons why this happens. It is interesting how certain species have adapted to this like the pipefish ang seahorses, yet other vulnerable species haven't. There are many different sexual selection pieces throughout this idea that explain certain behaviors. Overall, I think you are on to the right track with ideas and it will be interesting to see what comes in the future with different species examples.

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