The small male morphotype is
theorized to be the result of a combinative product
of social dominance (Karplus et al. 1992a)
and food deprivation (Karplus et al. 1992b) by
the blue claw males. The resulting size variation
with the male population combined with aggressive
behavior often results in cannibalism. The
wide range of sizes within a population at harvest
of commercial production enterprises may
create problems for marketing. A reduction in
size variation and a corresponding increase in
production have been achieved through size
grading of juvenile populations prior to stocking
into production ponds