Essay on Evolution in Trinidadian guppies

The evolution in Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) has been a fundamental system to evaluating the evolution from the behavior of antipredator. This is due to the populations that geographically isolated have the knowledge and experienced various amounts of aquatic predation. The studies have observed on the behavioral reactions to an aquatic predator and aerial predator of the origin’s guppies from two different populations. The purpose of these studies is to understand appropriately about the objective of behavioral flexibility for confronting with a multi-predator environment (Magurran).

            The guppies seemed to have a strong reaction when placed in the environment of aerial predator and reacted differently to an aquatic predator. This confirmed that different reactions to an aquatic predator between populations are associated with predation history and explained that guppies lived in an environment where the various predators lived there and therefore, they need different deceitful behaviors which significant to the type of predator. These results indicated that guppies possibly have a flexible culture level related to their antipredator behavior. It occurs that optional pressures from two different types of predators have created complicated behavioral reactions of the prey animals lived in this system. Due to the deceitful behaviors should be practiced for the two types of predator conflict, guppies were practiced a flexible defense strategy which able them to appropriately respond to one type of predator which anticipated the larger risk which will come from the other type. Guppies were able to balance flexibility in their antipredator behavior to determine the particular risks formed by different predators in a tested situation before they decided to practice the deceitful behavior.

             The diversity of populations which showed in the present study utilized the basic from the previous investigations of behavior in reaction to specific predators. The underline of the population diversity in antipredator behaviors also expanded to the identification and prevention of the original aquatic predators. This could be seen from the strong antipredator behavior which guppies presented which influenced by both the aerial predator and also aquatic predator where the guppies were exhibited are engaged with the predation risks which they had to face in the wild.

If we compare with another population from the lower risk, guppies which included in the high-risk populations presented the strong reactions only when they encountered the specific predators that created more considerable risks. The expected behaviors of different predators and the respective dangers of antipredator behaviors reactions can be recognized when guppies exposed concurrent encounters with both predator types. Although each guppy faced both types of predator, they were able to keep the flexibility according to antipredator behavior, and the different populations indeed created certain behaviors based on their significant predation regime (Hendry and Kinnison).

The conclusion we can take from this is that guppies are able to give different reactions related to the risk level of conditions that they had to face. Even though the basic types of deceitful behaviors are possibly naturally driven for every population, the frequency and period of the behavior could be more efficient and flexible as we can see from the case with behaviors from guppies. Thus, the potential showed for a quite complex culture of flexibility in antipredator behavior that guppies acquire in different environments, in which guppies encountered the type of predator and a particular level of risk in different predator combinations, an extension to their experiences in an aquatic predator environment. The differences in investigated behaviors also back up the theory that specific environment are essential in deciding the proper behaviors for avoiding aerial predators.