Evolutionary relationships of anglerfishes (Lophiiformes) reconstructed using ultraconserved elements.

The macroevolutionary consequences of evolving in the deep-sea remain poorly understood and are compounded by the fact that convergent adaptations for living in this environment makes elucidating phylogenetic relationships difficult. Lophiiform anglerfishes exhibit extreme habitat and predatory specializations, including the use of a fin-spine system as a luring device and unique reproductive strategies where parasitic males attach and fuse to females. Despite their notoriety for these odd characteristics, evolutionary relationships among these fishes remain unclear. We sought to clarify the evolutionary history of Lophiiformes using data from 1000 ultraconserved elements and phylogenomic inference methods with particular interest paid to the Ceratioidei (deep-sea anglerfishes) and Antennarioidei (frogfishes and handfishes). At the suborder level, we recovered similar topologies in separate phylogenomic analyses: The Lophioidei (monkfishes) are the sister group to the rest of the Lophiiformes, Ogcocephaloidei (batfishes) and Antennarioidei (frogfishes) form a sister group, and Chaunacioidei (coffinfishes) and Ceratioidei (deep-sea anglerfishes) form a clade. The relationships we recover within the ceratioids disagree with most previous phylogenetic investigations, which used legacy phylogenetic markers or morphology. We recovered non-monophyletic relationships in the Antennarioidei and proposed three new families based on molecular and morphological evidence: Histiophrynidae, Rhycheridae, and Tathicarpidae. Antennariidae was re-evaluated to include what was known as Antennariinae, but not Histiophryninae. Non-bifurcating signal in splits network analysis indicated reticulations among and within suborders, supporting the complicated history of the Lophiiformes previously found with morphological data. Although we resolve relationships within Antennarioidei, Ceratioidei relationships remain somewhat unclear without better taxonomic sampling.

Instructional Models for Course-Based Research Experience (CRE) Teaching.

The course-based research experience (CRE) with its documented educational benefits is increasingly being implemented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. This article reports on a study that was done over a period of 3 years to explicate the instructional processes involved in teaching an undergraduate CRE. One hundred and two instructors from the established and large multi-institutional SEA-PHAGES program were surveyed for their understanding of the aims and practices of CRE teaching. This was followed by large-scale feedback sessions with the cohort of instructors at the annual SEA Faculty Meeting and subsequently with a small focus group of expert CRE instructors. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, the survey data were analyzed for the aims of inquiry instruction and pedagogical practices used to achieve these goals. The results characterize CRE inquiry teaching as involving three instructional models: 1) being a scientist and generating data; 2) teaching procedural knowledge; and 3) fostering project ownership. Each of these models is explicated and visualized in terms of the specific pedagogical practices and their relationships. The models present a complex picture of the ways in which CRE instruction is conducted on a daily basis and can inform instructors and institutions new to CRE teaching.

A new species of frogfish of the genus Kuiterichthys (Lophiiformes: Antennariidae: Histiophryninae) from New South Wales, Australia.

Kuiterichthys pietschi, a new species of frogfish of the teleost order Lophiiformes, family Antennariidae, subfamily Histiophryninae, is described from 20 specimens collected at depths of 60-89 m (average 73 m) off New South Wales, Aus- tralia. A member of the antennariid genus Kuiterichthys, the new species differs from its congener in escal morphology, a somewhat shorter second dorsal-fm spine (17.0-22.5% SL vs. 17.8-29.8%); 20 vertebrae vs. 21; 10-11 dorsal-fin rays vs. 12-14; and 7-8 pectoral-fm rays vs. 9-10. The new species is described and compared with its purported sister species, Kuiterichthysfurcipilis.

Evolutionary history of frogfishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes: Antennariidae): a molecular approach.

Fishes of the family Antennariidae (order Lophiiformes) are primarily shallow-water benthic forms found in nearly all tropical and subtropical oceans and seas of the world, with some taxa extending into temperate waters. Despite an earlier attempt based on morphology, no previous hypothesis of intergeneric relationships of the Antennariidae exists. To resolve phylogenetic relationships within the Antennariidae, and to test the validity of species groups within Antennarius, DNA sequences from the mitochondrial 16S and cytochrome oxidase c subunit 1 (COI) genes, and nuclear recombination activating gene 2 (RAG2), for 25 described and four undescribed antennariid species, representing 10 of 12 known genera and one undescribed genus, were unambiguously aligned and analyzed using Bayesian and maximum likelihood methods. The markers were partitioned and analyzed for substitution saturation and only the third codon position of COI (COI-3) was found to have reached saturation. However, analysis of both datasets, one with the saturated data and one without, differed only slightly. All molecular analyses recovered two major clades, one comprised of Fowlerichthys, Antennarius, Histrio, and Antennatus; and another containing Rhycherus, Antennariidae gen. et sp. nov., Kuiterichthys, Phyllophryne, Echinophryne, Tathicarpus, Lophiocharon, and Histiophryne. Evidence is presented to illustrate a correlation between phylogeny, geographic distribution, and reproductive life history. The results of these analyses provide the first hypothesis of evolutionary relationships within the Antennariidae.

Evolutionary history of anglerfishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes): a mitogenomic perspective.

BACKGROUND: The teleost order Lophiiformes, commonly known as the anglerfishes, contains a diverse array of marine fishes, ranging from benthic shallow-water dwellers to highly modified deep-sea midwater species. They comprise 321 living species placed in 68 genera, 18 families and 5 suborders, but approximately half of the species diversity is occupied by deep-sea ceratioids distributed among 11 families. The evolutionary origins of such remarkable habitat and species diversity, however, remain elusive because of the lack of fresh material for a majority of the deep-sea ceratioids and incompleteness of the fossil record across all of the Lophiiformes. To obtain a comprehensive picture of the phylogeny and evolutionary history of the anglerfishes, we assembled whole mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) sequences from 39 lophiiforms (33 newly determined during this study) representing all five suborders and 17 of the 18 families. Sequences of 77 higher teleosts including the 39 lophiiform sequences were unambiguously aligned and subjected to phylogenetic analysis and divergence time estimation. RESULTS: Partitioned maximum likelihood analysis confidently recovered monophyly for all of the higher taxa (including the order itself) with the exception of the Thaumatichthyidae (Lasiognathus was deeply nested within the Oneirodidae). The mitogenomic trees strongly support the most basal and an apical position of the Lophioidei and a clade comprising Chaunacoidei + Ceratioidei, respectively, although alternative phylogenetic positions of the remaining two suborders (Antennarioidei and Ogcocephaloidei) with respect to the above two lineages are statistically indistinguishable. While morphology-based intra-subordinal relationships for relatively shallow, benthic dwellers (Lophioidei, Antennarioidei, Ogcocephaloidei, Chaunacoidei) are either congruent with or statistically indistinguishable from the present mitogenomic tree, those of the principally deep-sea midwater dwellers (Ceratioidei) cannot be reconciled with the molecular phylogeny. A relaxed molecular-clock Bayesian analysis of the divergence times suggests that all of the subordinal diversifications have occurred during a relatively short time period between 100 and 130 Myr ago (early to mid Cretaceous). CONCLUSIONS: The mitogenomic analyses revealed previously unappreciated phylogenetic relationships among the lophiiform suborders and ceratioid familes. Although the latter relationships cannot be reconciled with the earlier hypotheses based on morphology, we found that simple exclusion of the reductive or simplified characters can alleviate some of the conflict. The acquisition of novel features, such as male dwarfism, bioluminescent lures, and unique reproductive modes allowed the deep-sea ceratioids to diversify rapidly in a largely unexploited, food-poor bathypelagic zone (200-2000 m depth) relative to the other lophiiforms occurring in shallow coastal areas.