Posted by msblucow on February 20, 2002 at 19:31:18:
In Reply to: Re: Dearest Marta.... posted by msblucow on February 20, 2002 at 09:17:26:
I talked to Roy Houston Ph.D (he's a professor at Loyolla Marymount and works closely with the Long Beach Aquarium regarding their scientific diver program) about the alpha males sheephead thing. He backed up the aquarist I spoke with earlier.
In a nutshell: Large alpha male sheepshead are at the prime of their breeding potential, not at the end. By removing them from the environment, you are removing prime genetic material from the sheepshead's breeding population. Better to take smaller males or females if you're looking for a meal.
As resources, Dr. Houston cited the following;
Warner, R. 1973. Ecological and evolutionary aspects of hermaphroditism in the California sheephead. Ph.D. Dissertation. San Diego. University of California.
Warner, R. 1984. Mating behavior and hermaphroditism in coral reef fishes. American Scientist 72: 128-36. This article is not about sheepheads but it covers other species of wrasses with the same population dynamics.