Swordtail fishes have become a model system for studies in sexual selection. Male swordtails have colorful extended tailfins called swords, and females mate preferentially with males with attractive swords. For 20 years, the investigator has examined questions about how this preference was established, its maintenance, and possible costs and benefits of the preference and the sword. The proposed synthesis will result in an integrated picture of how multiple processes interact to shape female preferences and male traits. The focus of the proposed monograph will be on preexisting preferences and their effects in a group of fishes, but it will also integrate previous work on preexisting preferences in other organisms, identify what is known about such preferences, and outline important future directions of research in this largely unexplored area.
The monograph will be accessible to scientists as well as the scientifically literate public. It will demonstrate that preexisting preferences are widespread, can be expressed in a variety of ways, and that their expression can be variable depending on environmental conditions. Related educational products will be developed that use active learning approaches. In conjunction with the monograph, these products will be suitable for high school, undergraduate, and graduate courses.
