A grant has been awarded to Dr. Theodore W. Pietsch of the University of Washington to conduct studies of deep-sea anglerfishes of the world. A morphologically diverse assemblage of 157 species, deep-sea anglerfishes are among the most intriguing of all animals, displaying a host of spectacular morphological, behavioral, and physiological innovations found nowhere else. They share with shallow-water relatives a unique mode of feeding in which the first dorsal-fin spine, placed out on the tip of the snout, is modified to serve as a luring apparatus, but they differ in attracting prey with light produced by symbiotic luminescent bacteria. In further contrast, they employ a unique mode of reproduction in which males are dwarfed and attach themselves to relatively gigantic females. Attachment is followed by fusion of tissues and a connection of the circulatory systems so that the male becomes permanently dependent on the female for blood-transported nutrients, while the female becomes a kind of self-fertilizing hermaphrodite. Despite these and other unique aspects of great biological interest, ceratioids remain very poorly known. The work proposed here will bring together all known specimens of these animals in natural history collections around the world and compile a full synthesis of knowledge about their biology, making the information known to the scientific and lay community through hardcopy publication as well as by electronic presentation on the Internet.
The work has great potential for the discovery and understanding of new biological phenomena ranging from reproductive processes to the evolution of deep-sea light-organ symbiosis. At the same time, the results will form a foundation for future examination of a host of intriguing evolutionary questions relative to oceanic biology in general: their abundance, high species diversity, and position in the food chain as top primary carnivores in deep-sea ecosystems make them important ecologically; and their unique mode of reproduction has significant biomedical implications to the fields of endocrinology and immunology. Finally, while contributing significantly to education and the development of human resources in science at the undergraduate and graduate levels, the results, broadly disseminated, will enhance scientific and technological understanding among students, scientists, and the general public.
