Blog 10 Fishy

There exists a unique pipefish species referred to as microphis deocata in which the male is courted and houses the pregnancy rather than the female in the species. This is contradictory to a vast majority of sexually reproducing species, where the common assumption is that the female is courted and carries the unborn offspring. With these specific pipefish, the females are colorful and flashy in order to attract the mates, while the males sport a more basic drab look. The reason the appearances are flipped in this situation is most likely due to the physical attributes of the male and their role in sexual reproduction. Since the males carry the baby in this species, the females must win them over as a choice for a mate as this tends to be the source of competition rather than gender itself. With the males now being forced to be more responsible put more effort into reproduction than the females, the roles are seemingly reversed. The males now have to be the more picky of the two genders, deciding who's traits they want their young to have half of. 

This is all based around the idea of sexual dimorphism, which is defined as a distinct difference between the two genders of a species, whether it be size, shape, colors, or sexual reproduction organs. These differences play a role in sexual selection. In the case above with the pipefish, the males are more likely to choose the females who are most flashy. This includes females who are more colorful and vibrant, as well as those females who are larger in size in order to grab more attention. Since males put in significantly more effort into this reproduction process, they are the ones who are sexually selective, while the females are waiting to be picked as a partner. Although unique, everything about the colorful females and the selective males within this species of pipefish does make perfect since biologically, it is just opposite of what many of us have grown to assume about species.