Imagine You Are an Evolutionary Biologist Studying Reproductive Trade-Offs in Populations

Essay

Imagine you are an evolutionary biologist studying reproductive trade-offs in populations of guppies that have been separated by the formation of barrier waterfalls. The upstream population faces lower predation than the downstream population, and the predators on the downstream side are larger and can eat any guppy offspring, no matter the size. Make a prediction about the reproductive strategies you might find and explain the trade-offs faced by the reproducing female guppies on each side of the barrier.