Abstract: Fishes have evolved the ability to produce bioluminescence at least 27 independent times. This light is produced either endogenously via light-producing cells or symbiotically via a relationship with bioluminescent bacteria housed and maintained in specialized light organs. The majority of bioluminescent lineages of fishes are found in the deep sea (areas below 200 m depth). The adaptive significance of bioluminescence in these deep-sea fishes includes camouflage, predation, predator avoidance, and communication. Across the tree of fishes, bioluminescent organs vary greatly in their size and shape, in their light intensity and color, and in their location and number. The variation in the anatomy and morphology of light producing organs across deep-sea fishes continues to be an understudied avenue of research in our pursuit of knowledge regarding fish evolution and adaptation in the deep sea. Using a combination of methods and techniques, including dissecting and histology, I describe variation in the anatomy and morphology of light organs in previously uninvestigated species of deep-sea fishes.

- Rene is an Assistant Professor in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in Ecology and Field Biology from St. Cloud State University (MN) and her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas (KS). Although her B.S. and freshwater fieldwork experience lies in the realm of natural resources and fisheries, her research focuses on studying the evolution and diversification of deep-sea fishes. Specifically, she answers questions pertaining to the evolution of lanternfishes (Myctophidae) and other deep-sea fish lineages. Her work includes creating phylogenetic hypotheses of genus-level relationships and uses them as frameworks to investigate evolutionary questions related to evolution and diversification. She is also interested in exploring the morphological changes within a phylogenetic context.