Garibaldi Guarding His Eggs

A male Garibaldi hovers above his patch of eggs, deposited by females after mating.

Male Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus) zealously tend and trim patches of red algae. If a male works hard enough, his algae patch will impress females enough that they will pause to lay their eggs there. The male fertilizes them. The male then guards the eggs until they hatch. Male Garibaldi will attack all creatures who approach the eggs, including divers. This fellow darted at my camera lens a few times, and seemed convinced that he'd won the contest when I backed off slightly. He's guarding a rich patch of eggs, pretty much obscuring the red algae underneath. He made his home on the long, narrow rocky reef at Towers, also known as Drop-Off Reef, on the South side of Santa Cruz Island.