Social Structure
The Barrier Reef Anemonefish live together in a social structure within a single anemone. A dominant female is the largest member of the group, and her mate, the dominant male, the second largest. There are also up to four lower-ranking males. There is little aggression from the large female toward the males, but fierce in-fighting between the males maintains the pecking order. The lowest ranking male may be driven out and forced to seek a place in a group within another anemone host or die. If the female dies, the dominant male assumes her position within the hierarchy and over the course of a few days changes sex. In the wild they may live 6–10 years, but captive species have survived for 18 years.
Read more about this topic: Barrier Reef Anemonefish
Famous quotes containing the words social and/or structure:
“You may cut off the heads of every rich man now living—of every statesman—every literary, and every scientific authority, without in the least changing the social situation. Artists, of course, disappeared long ago as social forces. So did the church. Corporations are not elevators, but levellers, as I see them.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“What is the structure of government that will best guard against the precipitate counsels and factious combinations for unjust purposes, without a sacrifice of the fundamental principle of republicanism?”
—James Madison (1751–1836)