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    Published: January 16, 2011

    Tracing the Evolution of Venom in Scorpionfishes and Waspfishes

    Stephanie Ware, Manager, Morphology Labs, SEM

    ELIZABETH EVERMAN

    Junior Biology major at William Jewell College

    REU Mentor: Dr. Leo Smith (Curator, Zoology, Fishes)

    Symposium Presentation Title: The phylogeny of scorpionfishes and stonefishes (Teleostei:  Scorpaenoidei) and its implications for the evolution of venom

    Symposium Presentation Abstract: Morphological and molecular datasets are combined to analyze the inter-relationships and intra-relationships of the Scorpaenoidei fishes.   This phylogenetic analysis is also used to infer the evolution of characters such as the evolution of venom, live birth and modified pectoral rays.  Data were collected for 50 taxa representative of three outgroups and 18 scorpaenoid families, including the venomous Scorpaenidae, Sebastidae, Setarchidae, Synanceiidae, Apistidae, Tetrarogidae, Aploactinidae, Gnathanacanthidae, Neosebastidae, and their relatives Pataecidae, Bembridae, Parabembridae, Plectrogeniidae, Congiopodidae, Triglidae, Peristediidae, Hoplichthyidae and Platycephalidae.  The scorpaeoid relationships are distinct from previous hypotheses based on either morphological or molecular data.  Ancestral states reconstruction shows that the evolution of characters such as venom and pectoral rays occurred multiple times. It is probable that an increased number of taxa will provide greater insight and further resolve the interrelationships and intra-relationships of the scorpaenoid fishes.

    Original Project Description: Scorpionfishes and waspfishes include the most venomous fishes in the world.  For nearly 200 years, biologists have assumed that these fishes had a common venomous ancestor, but recent work has caused us to question this assumption by demonstrating that the waspfishes and scorpionfishes are not each other's closest ally.  The goals of this project are to generate a comprehensive phylogeny for all of the major fish groups nested within this toxic suborder of fishes to work out the detailed evolutionary scenario for venom evolution and loss.  The REU participant in this project will complete the DNA sequencing component of this phylogenetic and macroevolutionary question to complement the existing morphological component.  If interested, the REU participant can also explore the anatomical implications of the resulting phylogeny.  This study will not only resolve questions about the evolutionary biology of fishes and venoms, but it will also have implications for public health.

    Research methods and techniques: The REU participant in the project will receive an introduction to scorpionfish morphology, fish venom evolution, and systematics.  The participant will get hands-on training in all aspects of DNA extraction through sequencing.  Further, the participant will get detailed training in phylogenetic analysis as well as the comparative methods necessary to trace the evolution of venom and the effect that this adaptation has had on scorpionfish diversification.

    Stephanie Ware
    Manager, Morphology Labs

    Stephanie started volunteering at the Field Museum in 1998, working with Curator John Bates in the Bird Division. In 1999, John Bates hired her as a research assistant. After that project finished in 2007, she went to work for Carl Dick in the Division of Insects helping him to complete his work on the museum's Bat Fly collection. She spent a great deal of time generating images for the Bat Fly portion of theDiptera Taxonomy Database. When Carl left for University of Kentucky in 2009, she continued her imaging work in the Insect Division. In the intervening years, she has imaged hundreds specimens, mostly types, from the rove beetle (Staphylinidae), ant and myriapoda collections.

    Stephanie began working with the Chicago Peregrine Program in 2006.  Initially, she monitored the Metropolitan Correctional Center nest in downtown Chicago.  Over time, her duties have expanded to include other nests in the metro region, emphasizing the identification of nesting adults.  In March of 2007, Stephanie created a group called Midwest Peregrine Falcons on the photo sharing website Flickr with the goal of providing a place for photographers across the country to submit their photographs of peregrine sightings in the Midwestern United States. She also has many of her own peregrine photos on Flickr as well.