Significance of the late nester

Twice I seen a sunfish nesting late being the only nest around. Once was a small largemouth bass a year ago, then it was a pumpkinseed last week?

How common is it to have a sunfish nesting after the others have stopped?

Is their a significance to this? (does it reflect variety in genes for spawning temperature or is it just luck).

Now to leave you with a pic I took of a pumpkinseed chasing a big largemouth away from its nest. it's not the size of the fish in the fight, it is the size of the fight in the fish.

I think it's the unusually warm weather. Here in FL I see them nesting all summer. There will be tons of nests in the spring then one or two here and there for the whole rest of the season.

Within a diverse population there are always a few individuals acting at the edge of the spectrum in terms of behavior. It's a sign of the population's ability to withstand sudden dramatic changes. For example what would happen if for some reason or another all of a sudden the nests created earlier in the year made no viable offspring? Say they got eaten or some swarm of fry-eating insects moved into town during that part of the year. If the nests in the beginning of the year produce less viable offspring then this guy, who's making his nest later in the year, will have an advantage. A higher percentage of the next generation will be his, and will probably also nest later in the year like their father.

A lot of the times when people say that an animal species reacted to a stressor and survived, what really happened is that a lot of the original population died and the fringe individuals, like this guy, became a larger percentage of the overall population. He is a sign of the species' ability to quickly adapt to change.

Agree with what Erica said. Also, he might be a younger male that couldn't hold his own territory against the big boys earlier in the season. Whether there's any gravid females left for him to spawn with is another matter.