Posted by msblucow on February 21, 2002 at 19:06:55:
In Reply to: actually, wrasse biology and kelp forest ecology are two different thing posted by mike on February 21, 2002 at 18:43:37:
Dr. Houston is a published researcher. The aquarist at the Aquarium hasn't published anything that I'm aware of.
While it is true that males sheepshead are replaced by other males when they are removed from their territory, your statement makes me think that you're assuming that they are replaced with another male of equal stature. This would only be true if there is an undending supply of replacements available. When you get to the point where the overall populations are reduced, then what starts to happen is that you get less and less mature males (males that aren't considered 'trophy' material by spear fishermen), or females who must morph into males, replacing the alpha male that was just taken.
Just curious, why do assume that there are a dozen males to replace every male that is predated?