[5] An unusual trait for damselfish species and other marine fish in southern California, where typically adult females are larger.

[5] Juveniles are a deeper, more reddish shade of orange and are covered in many small iridescent blue stripes and spots, which they gradually lose as they become adults.

A study conducted by Caron & Rainboth in 1992, found that vibrant colorations reduce aggressive behavior that territorial fish express toward members of their own species, especially during the breeding season.

[6] Supporting the “intraspecific camouflage” theory, or the idea that the distinct coloration of juvenile Garibaldi allows them to go unrecognized as competitors by the adults.

A separate study, (Neal, 1993), answers this by conducting preliminary experiments where adult Garibaldi were exposed to live fish with various colorations.

Except instead of facilitating the recognition of a deadly prey, it accelerated Garibaldi adults learning to avoid wasting time and energy chasing after juvenile fish.

[8] Preferring to live over rocky bottoms on exposed/semi protected coasts with clear water, and plenty of crevices as well as small caves for cover.

[10] Embryos hatch within 2 hours after sunset and before early morning, potentially to minimize risk of predation by planktivorous reef fishes.

[11] A newer study, conducted by Williams et al., 2022, collected a Garibaldi with the age of 57 years, making them the longest lived of any species of damselfish by two decades.

[5] Senoritas (Oxyjulis californica) and Kelp Perch (Brachyistius frenatus) remove external parasitic organisms, like bacteria, fungi, copepods, and isopods from Garibaldis.

[11] Females will travel considerable distances during breeding season, encountering courting males and don't just spawn automatically with the mate nearest to her territory.

[13] As this may be a reflection of the amount of energy a male devotes to nest tending, serving as an indicator of ability to invest in paternal care and/or parental experience.

One way the male can maintain this age gradient the females look for is by selectively cannibalizing the older eggs that are exposed to empty nest space.

[1] A brand new study Fuentes Calderon et al., 2024, has data that shows correlated patterns between sea surface temperature across islands and the relationship between diet composition and habitat type.

It is hard to find direct evidence of habitat-related differences in the ecological performance of marine fishes, but this knowledge can be critically important in the future design and assessment of projects that may add or remove reef habitats in the ocean.