Evolution and elongation in deep dwelling anglerfishes

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Many of us are familiar with anglerfishes, though we may not be aware that that’s what they are called, or that more than one type exists. Frequently depicted in popular culture with giant heads, large mouths, sharp teeth and a lightbulb appendage on top, this is indeed a real type of anglerfish that occupies the deep sea (think Finding Nemo), but it’s just one of more than 200 species of anglerfish.

Working with specimens from the Burke Museum and NOAA, Elizabeth Miller, a former National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS), was captivated by the great diversity of shapes of anglers, which was at odds with how the species is often depicted. Inspired by the world-renowned anglerfish research that has taken place at SAFS and the Burke Museum under Curator Emeritus Ted Pietsch – who wrote the book on the diversity of anglerfishes – Elizabeth set out to build a family tree of anglerfishes and delve into the evolution of new shapes, such as body elongation.

A picture showing five different types of anglerfish, with captions including their names.
Elizabeth Miller
From blobby to elongated: the shape diversity of anglerfishes.

In a new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution in November 2024, Elizabeth (now a postdoctoral scholar at University of California, Irvine) worked with SAFS Associate Professor and Curator of Fishes, Luke Tornabene, and a multinational team including scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, The University of Oklahoma, and Rice University, to combine genetic material that has been collected and stored from anglerfishes over many years by agencies such as NOAA and museums like the Burke. Much like humans build their family trees by sending in DNA and tracing their lineage online, anglerfish phylogeny is also based on genetic similarity, but over a much longer timescale. “Think millions of years instead of a few hundred,” Elizabeth said. 

A woman smiles into the camera while holding a footballfish specimen
Elizabeth Miller
Elizabeth Miller holds a footballfish that had washed up in Southern California.

The team then paired this family tree with measurements of body and skull shape to ask how the diversity of anglerfishes evolved over time. This is where specimen collections such as those housed in The UW Fish Collection are so important, because they preserve fish species as a snapshot in time to when they were collected from often very hard to reach places, such as the deep ocean. The measurements were taken from over 400 anglerfish specimens, with a quarter of these also CT scanned at Friday Harbor Labs (FHL). CT scans provide three-dimensional images of the skeleton and skull of preserved specimens without damaging them, an important tool for preserving very rare museum specimens. These images were used to quantify the shape of anglerfishes, which the team then used to infer how shape evolved using phylogenetic approaches.

What they learned was that the evolution of new shapes is very fast in deep-sea anglerfishes, especially in association with body elongation. “In evolutionary biology, we call a lineage like this an adaptive radiation, meaning a lineage that evolves a lot of different shapes associated with different ecological niches or ways of living,” Elizabeth said. “Adaptive radiations are well known on land and shallow water, but I had never heard of an adaptive radiation in the deep-sea. I was excited to see if anglerfish fit that mold.” Which they did. The researchers found that the deviation away from the archetypical globose shape is especially associated with rapid evolution. 

A CT scan image showing the skeleton of a fish against a black background, with a smaller photo of the fish in real life located on the bottom right.
Elizabeth Miller
A micro CT scan of a Burke Museum specimen. This is Lophodolos – or Whalehead dreamer – which appears in the elongation graphic above.

How exactly do they know this? This is where the family tree comes in handy. It showed that elongated anglers, such as the wolftrap angler, are closely related to “blobby” ones such as the footballfish. As they share a recent common ancestor, that means there was a short amount of time in between the blobby ancestor and that elongated shape they have today. “A high evolutionary rate implies a lot of change in a short amount of time,” Elizabeth said.

“This study is a great example of how new technology is allowing us to look at museum specimens in ways no one imagined when they were collected decades ago,” said Katherine Maslenikov, Ichthyology Collections Manager at UW. “Anglerfishes are rare and delicate so there has historically not been a lot of research into their anatomy. Genetics has allowed us to build powerful data sets that help us construct the family trees of organisms, but it is the museum specimens that then let us examine their anatomy to try to understand the ecology and behavior in evolutionary terms. Micro CT scanning allows for non-destructive imaging of the specimens, so we are now able to see the delicate skeletons of these rare species and be inspired to ask new questions.” 

The name anglerfish applies to all members of the order Lophiiformes, which has five groups: frogfishes, batfishes, monkfishes, sea toads, and the bathypelagic anglers. Most picture the bathypelagic group when they hear the word anglerfish (suborder Ceratioidei). There are 350 species in Lophiiformes, with roughly half in the bathypelagic ceratioid lineage, the group that this paper is focused on. 

“As to why rapid evolution over a quick time frame happens in the deep sea? It is hard to know, but we have some hypotheses,” Elizabeth added. “Anglerfish don’t really swim – they just float and wait for prey to come to them, drawn by their lures. This means the body can take on different forms and not negatively impact the fish, such as a blobby shape increasing drag in the water.” Some elongated shapes may have evolved as an increased surface area in a dark environment enhances sensation. “But all of these are just hypotheses right now – fruit for future research!” Elizabeth said.

read the paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution

From tropics to temperate: The shifting breeding ranges of seabirds amid climate change

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Foxes are migrating northward, frogs are climbing higher into the mountains, and walruses are hauling out closer to shore. Across the globe, species are shifting their ranges in response to environmental changes driven by climate change. However, seabirds face distinct challenges in adapting to these shifts. Unlike many species, seabirds rely on both suitable terrestrial and marine habitats for survival. While they can follow their prey as it moves northward in the ocean, successful reproduction depends on finding quality terrestrial breeding grounds that overlap with these changing marine environments. 

The California Channel Islands may serve as a critical climate refuge for seabirds. Situated at the convergence of the cool, nutrient-rich California Current and the warmer, more tropical Southern California Countercurrent, the archipelago offers a uniquely diverse oceanographic environment. This position supports a diverse mix of northern and southern breeding seabirds found nowhere else in the world. Channel Islands National Park, which spans four of the islands, provides an added layer of protection for these vulnerable species. At least 16 seabird species currently breed on the islands, and the park is estimated to provide habitat for 99% of the breeding seabirds in Southern California.

Amelia DuVall, a PhD candidate at the University of Washington’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS) and a member of the Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, is a scientist in the world of seabirds. In September 2024, she and her colleagues published a paper in Western North American Naturalist reporting on the breeding range expansion of two pantropical seabird species—the Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) and the Blue-footed Booby (S. nebouxii). Previously, the northernmost breeding locations for both species were in Mexico. Brown Boobies are found in tropical oceans across the globe, and Blue-footed Boobies along the west coast of the Americas from Peru to Baja California, Mexico. However, both now breed at Sutil Island, a small rocky island off Santa Barbara Island in Channel Islands National Park, marking the first confirmed breeding records for Sula species in the continental United States.

A bird is pictured from the side/underside view, flying over the ocean. The bird has a white head and underside, with black/brown wings.
David Pereksta
Adult Brown Booby in flight near Sutil Island.

Sutil Island is a steep small (13-acre) island that is closed to the public and rarely accessed by researchers. Due to limited access, researchers have tracked the gradual arrival of boobies by observing the island from a boat with binoculars, from nearby Santa Barbara Island, or through aerial photographs taken by helicopter. Brown Boobies were first observed on Sutil Island in October 2013, with breeding confirmed four years later, in October 2017. The number of nest sites attended by adults or containing chicks grew from four in 2017 to 31 in 2022, and the total number of birds at the colony increased to 164 by September 2021. Blue-footed Boobies were first sighted in August 2018, with breeding confirmed two years later when a hybrid Brown Booby/Blue-footed Booby chick was documented.

A map with scale, showing the southern coast of California, stretching down to Baja California, with markings for the sites of birds.
The northern portion of Brown Booby (BRBO) and Blue-footed Booby (BFBO) breeding ranges within the eastern Pacific Ocean, with the previous northernmost breeding locations of both species denoted with stars. Inset includes detail of the new breeding colony at Sutil Island, off Santa Barbara Island in the California Channel Islands, USA.

So, what’s driving the northward range expansion of these seabird species? A key factor is rising sea surface temperatures. Warmer waters affect the physiological and ecological tolerances of seabird prey, causing shifts in prey distribution toward cooler northern waters. In essence, as the fish move, the seabirds follow. The 2014-2016 marine heatwave was particularly significant, as it triggered a northward shift in the distribution of larval Pacific sardines and anchovies, with the highest concentrations of larval fish in the northern California Current observed in 2015 and 2016—levels not seen since the 1990s. The collapse of the sardine fishery between 2009-2013 in the northern Gulf of California—the likely source population for these seabirds—may also have contributed to the expansion of their breeding range. As climate change progresses, the northward shift of these crucial prey species is expected to continue over the next century, with sightings of Sula species becoming more frequent as far north as Washington State.

The other researchers involved in the study are Jim A. Howard, California Institute of Environmental Studies, David M. Pereksta, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Pacific OCS Region, David M. Mazurkiewicz, Channel Islands National Park, Adam J. Searcy, Creosote Biological, Phillip J. Capitolo, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, and Tamara M. Russell, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego.

READ THE PAPER PUBLISHED IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN NATURALIST

Working on Alaska pinniped projects during the SAFS-MML internship

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Each year, UW students embark on the SAFS-NOAA Marine Mammal Laboratory internship program, spending a month or so working on projects related to marine mammals such as whale, seals, sea lions and porpoises. Project topics include marine mammal behavior, population dynamics, life history, migration patterns, distribution, and trends in abundance, with research taking place with the Marine Mammal Laboratory, a division of the  NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC). This year during June to August, two students – Kenna Daily (ESRM) and Sofia Denkovski (Marine Biology) – split their time working on two Alaska pinniped projects: remote camera imagery and food habits.

Under the mentorship of Molly McCormley from AFSC, they helped assess the efficacy of NOAA’s machine learning model for detecting Steller sea lions in digital images. They manually reviewed over 21,000 images of Steller sea lions rookery sites in the Aleutian Islands, marking locations of branded sea lion individuals which will be compared to observations found by the machine learning model.

NOAA
Screenshot of the PhotoCount program used by Kenna and Sofia to review remote camera images for marked Steller sea lions. Known individuals are marked with a letter or symbol (indicates where they were born) and a unique number. In this example, Steller sea lion ~176 (behavior = Unknown) was identified in an image taken 26 May 2018 on Attu Island, Alaska.

While being mentored by Katie Luxa, also from AFSC, Kenna and Sofia processed ~300 frozen Steller sea lion and northern fur seal diet samples (i.e., scats and spews). The fish otoliths, bones, and squid beaks they recovered from samples are now ready to be identified by Marine Mammal Lab staff. They also helped prep northern fur seal vibrissae for stable isotope analysis and inventoried over 1,600 cephalopod specimens in the Lab’s food habits reference collection.

NOAA
Photo of fish bones in a metal sieve. This was part of a very large spew (regurgitation) sample from a Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) that was processed by Sofia. There were several different species present; the large V-shaped bone in the middle is a lower jaw from a wolffish (family Anarhichadidae).

In addition to their research tasks, Kenna and Sofia used this unique opportunity to connect with other MML and Alaska Fisheries Science Center researchers, setting up one-on-one meetings to learn more about their study animals and research projects. Their mentors reported that Kenna and Sofia did a fantastic job. They were enthusiastic, their work was impeccable, and they asked excellent questions, with both students being invited to stay on as part-time (<4 hrs/week) lab volunteers.

Interested in previous SAFS-MML interns? Read their stories here

 

Where are we now? Reflections on Tribal Fisheries and Co-Management 50 years after the Boldt Decision

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50 years ago in 1974, Judge George Boldt made a ruling in the case of U.S. v. Washington State, which upheld Tribal treaty-reserved fishing rights. This upheld the Tribe’s entitlement to half the harvestable number of salmon returning to or passing through the Tribes’ usual and accustomed fishing places, and established the Tribes as co-managers of the salmon resource with the state. It also required the state to take actions to sustain the resources, mentioned directly in the ruling: “The most fundamental prerequisite to exercising the right to take fish is the existence of fish to be taken.” This became known as the Boldt Decision.

50 years later on November 21, 2024, the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS) hosted this year’s annual Bevan Seminar as a special one-day symposium reflecting on Tribal fisheries, their co-management since this landmark decision, and what the the next 50 years will look like for Washington fisheries. Centering on Tribal voices, the symposium heard from Tribal leaders, elders, scientists, artists and lawyers, through a series of panels and Q&A discussions.

Many of us working or studying at the University of Washington hadn’t heard about the Boldt Decision until recently. As someone relatively new to both UW and to Washington, this was certainly true for me. When sitting through the symposium, I wondered how many others might be unaware of this ruling, why it came about, and its impact on two core parts of Washington: salmon and the Tribes.

A crowded room faces a presentation screen, with one person at the lectern.
Niamh Owen-McLaughlin
Director of SAFS, Tim Essington, gives his opening address.

Beginning the event with a prayer from Phil Hamilton from the Muckleshoot Tribe and an opening address from SAFS Director, Tim Essington, members of the audience heard about the stories and people behind the Boldt Decision. Discussions covered why salmon are so important to Washington Tribes – culturally, spiritually, economically – and accounts of the struggles to uphold Treaty-reserved fishing rights. The 200 or so members of the audience were also reminded by Chairman Jaison Elkins from the Muckleshoot Tribe that: “If you want to be a good fisherman, you need to be a good biologist. Our Tribes have always believed in science and observations to protect our salmon.”

One of the strong messages emerging from the event was the need to protect salmon, in the face of many threats including climate change, and for a whole host of reasons including subsistence, economic development, cultural practices, and conservation. Scott Schuyler from the Upper Skagit Tribe told us that: “When our ancestors signed the Treaty, they sacrificed everything to reserve this right to fish in perpetuity. What it means, is when the fish are gone, it’s diminished the right and value of the Treaty.” As pointed out by Mary Neil, a member of the Lummi Nation and attorney for the Muckleshoot Tribe, and whose decision to attend law school was partly because of the Boldt Decision, the fight isn’t just for fishing rights and the ability to fish, “but to protect our way of life.”

An important reason for SAFS hosting this event was to help educate those in our programs, and in the wider community both internally and externally to UW (me included), about what exactly the Boldt Decision was, and its lasting impact on Tribal fisheries in Washington. The first panel of the day did just this as it focused on the challenges, successes, and opportunities for co-management. A strong message heard during this panel was the way Tribes have taken a hearts and mind approach to co-management: “Telling the State what’s in our heart but telling them in a way in which the State understands – technically”.

Brochures lined up on a table
Niamh Owen-McLaughlin
The event heard unique insights into the challenges, successes and future of co-management of fisheries in Washington.

Another recurring theme, and a challenge faced by Tribes, was the need to re-educate co-managers on their treaty rights, especially as new people come in with changes in local, state, and federal government every few years. This highlighted how the younger generation of scientists coming out of institutions such as the fisheries program at UW, have a key role in learning from Tribes and being a part of that ongoing re-education when working in future careers in public, private and government sectors. “It shouldn’t just be Tribal people reminding the government of the law of the land, it should be everyone”, said Maia Bellon from Cascadia Law Group.

The second panel discussed sustaining Tribal fisheries for the next 50 years. Apart from acknowledging the mass of sustainability challenges – particularly for salmon which require intact ecosystems from the land to the sea – we were also reminded that it is the joint responsibility of everyone to ensure the sustainability of fisheries. This responsibility doesn’t fall solely at the hands of the Tribes.

Finishing up the panel session part of the day was a discussion of Tribal fisheries’ cultural resiliency and food sovereignty during a time of climate change. A central takeaway was the need for Tribes to be sitting at management tables with equal status by being present in management schemes and policy strategy discussions, at every step of the way.

To end the day, SAFS PhD student, Nicole Doran, who helped organize the event, led a Q&A discussion about dos and don’ts for respectful research collaboration with Tribes, with participation from Vanessa Castle (Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Ridges to Riffles) and Ashley Nicole Lewis (Quinault Nation, Bad Ash Outdoors). Starting from a place of trust-building and relationship-building is essential and should precede any collaborative work with Tribes. Traditional ecological knowledge is not something that should be co-opted by non-Indigenous scientists because it removes that knowledge from the communities and from places where that knowledge was developed.

Three people sit at the front of a room, holding microphones
Niamh Owen-McLaughlin
Nicole Doran (SAFS PhD student), Vanessa Castle (Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Ridges to Riffles) and Ashley Nicole Lewis (Quinault Nation, Bad Ash Outdoors), conduct a Q&A session on dos and don’ts for respectful research collaboration with Tribes.

“We also talked a lot about consent – it’s really important to establish clear boundaries with collaborators, especially over data ownership, the intentions behind a collaboration, and the objectives of the project. ‘No means no’ definitely applies here, and if you are not sure what a collaborator’s boundaries are, it is always important to ask,” Nicole shared. “Putting in the work before starting the work” was another strong message coming through the Q&A session. Before reaching out to a Tribe, familiarize yourself with the Tribe you are interested in working with, find out who would be the best person to connect with, and really take the time to examine what your own intentions are.

“During this event, the UW community was incredibly fortunate to hear – and learn from – leaders and elders from different Washington Tribes,” Tim Essington said in his closing address. “The success of this symposium will be judged by what happens next – how we work to teach our graduate and undergraduate students about Tribal treaty rights, and how we meaningfully engage in our shared responsibility to protect our aquatic ecosystems.”

We would like to extend a special thank you to all of the panelists who joined us and made this event possible, and who took the time to provide their unique insights into the challenges, successes and future of co-management of fisheries in Washington:

The Bevan Symposium on Sustainable Fisheries is supported by the generous contributions from the Bevan Family and NOAA Fisheries. 

To learn more about Tribal Treaty Rights in Washington, visit the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) website.

Every November, UW recognizes Native American History Month, celebrating the traditions, cultures, languages and stories of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and affiliated Island communities and ensure their rich histories and contributions continue to thrive with each passing generation. For more information and resources, click here.

Congratulations to Lisa Cantore, recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Staff Award

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Congratulations to Lisa Cantore, who was chosen as the recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Staff Award. In her role as Assistant Director, Research Administration, Lisa was described as “untiring and indefatigable, working to get proposals submitted” by her nominators, and a staff member of SAFS who “goes above and beyond to provide support and feedback to anyone who comes to her with questions and concerns.”

Lisa is a critical part of the admin team at SAFS with remarkable institutional knowledge, demonstrating “a genuine passion for the success of SAFS as a whole.” Congratulations Lisa!

Julian Olden selected to serve on The Nature Conservancy’s inaugural External Science Advisory Board

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Julian Olden, SAFS Professor

Julian Olden, a Professor at the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS), has been chosen as one of 10 scientists to serve on the inaugural External Science Advisory Board (ESAB) for The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

A global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where “people and nature can thrive”, The Nature Conservancy was founded in the U.S. through grassroots action in 1951, and has more than a million members, staff and over 400 scientists, driving conservation efforts in 81 countries and territories.

The ESAB was established to ensure that TNC’s science remains aligned with the latest advancements in science, particularly in areas directly relevant to their research and conservation goals.

Selected based on his demonstrated global expertise and leadership in freshwater conservation, Julian Olden shared: “I’m very excited to help inform the science and conservation practices of TNC, including progress towards their goal to protect 30% of the planet’s land and water by 2030.”

The board will also provide independent oversight and guidance on critical science-related topics, help shape the next phase of the One Conservancy Science (OCS) program and serve as an essential resource for the OCS leadership team and science staff around the organization.

One or many? Exploring the population groups of the largest animal on Earth

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Hunted nearly to extinction during 20th century whaling, the world’s largest animal, the Antarctic blue whale, went from a population size of roughly 200,000 to little more than 300. The most recent abundance estimate in 2004 put Antarctic blue whales at less than 1% of their pre-whaling levels.

But is this population recovering? Is there just one population of Antarctic blue whales, or multiple? Why do these questions matter for conservation?

Zoe Rand, a PhD student in the UW Quantitative Ecology & Resource Management program (QERM), is tackling these questions in a new study, published in Endangered Species Research on November 14, 2024. Building on the last assessment of Antarctic blue whales in 2004, and using old whaling records which were surprisingly detailed, Zoe has been investigating if there are different populations or one big circumpolar population. Also involved in the study is UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS) Professor and Faculty for the QERM Program, Trevor Branch, and Jennifer Jackson from the British Antarctic Survey.

Paula Olson
Antarctic blue whales are the world’s largest animal, and are still recovering from being hunted nearly to extinction during 20th century whaling.

Antarctic blue whales are listed as an endangered species, and understanding their population structure is essential for their conservation. Conservation at the population-level increases biodiversity, and this diversity helps the species adapt better to environmental changes and increases chances of long-term survival.

During the whaling years, biologists began the Discovery marking program. Foot-long metal rods with serial numbers were shot into the muscles of whales. When these whales were caught, the metal rod was returned, and information about the whale’s size, sex, length, and where they were caught, was collected. Looking at where whales were marked compared to where they were caught can shed valuable insight into the movement of Antarctic blue whales, but this data has never been used before to look at population structure.

International Whaling Commission
Historical mark that was placed in the muscles of whales and then recovered during whaling.

In this new study, this historical data was used alongside contemporary survey data in Bayesian models to calculate inter-annual movement rates among the three ocean basins that make up the Southern Ocean (Atlantic, Indian, Pacific), which are the feeding grounds for Antarctic blue whales. They found frequent mixing among the ocean basins, suggesting that whales do not return to the same basin every year. This points to Antarctic blue whales being one single circumpolar population in the Southern Ocean.

These results are consistent with evidence from Antarctic blue whale songs, heard throughout the Southern Ocean. Only one song type has been recorded amongst the Antarctic blue whales. In comparison, pygmy blue whales have five different songs corresponding to five different populations. These results are also consistent with genetic studies which found that Antarctic blue whales are similar genetically.

Paula Olson
Antarctic blue whales are listed as an endangered species, and understanding their population structure is essential for their conservation.

This is the first time that historical mark-recovery data from the Discovery marking program has been analyzed using modern quantitative methods. This data exists for many other hunted whale species, such as fin and sei whales, so it could provide a framework for similar analyses for those whale species too.

There is still a lot we don’t know about the Antarctic blue whale. Acoustic data and their movement on the feeding grounds, suggests there is just one population in the Southern Ocean. Even though they do not appear to be separated geographically on their feeding grounds, they could still have population structure because of differences in breeding habitats or the timing of migration. However, almost nothing is known about Antarctic blue whale breeding behavior. Using historical data from whaling alongside contemporary data such as satellite tagging, and photo-identification is our best hope for uncovering the secrets of the largest animal on earth.

Wetland Ecosystem Team working with Long Live the Kings on habitat restoration project

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In a new blog by Long Live the Kings, they explore the preliminary findings of post-restoration monitoring undertaken by the UW Wetland Ecosystem Team at a habitat restoration project at Vigor Shipyards, which was completed in the Spring of 2023.

Long Live the Kings + Wetland Ecosystem Team
Preliminary data shows that the team captured more fish in sampling efforts this year than they did in 2021 when comparing fish densities within the nets.

Monitoring efforts measure fish presence and density, insect abundance, and fish feeding habits within the newly restored area. The team also monitors nearby Jack Block Park, which represents a more natural shoreline not being restored to use as a reference and comparison for the team’s measurements. Similar monitoring efforts were conducted in 2021, before the new habitat was constructed, so the team would have a baseline to compare to.

The goal of restoring habitat is to provide higher quality food for juvenile salmon as they migrate to the ocean, enabling them to grow larger and have a better chance of survival. If the results show that salmon are using the habitat for resting and feeding, it will be a good indication that more “salmon rest stops” could help salmon in the Duwamish estuary.

Read the full blog by Long Live the Kings