Title: Anglerfish Romance Category: Biology Subcategory: Difficulty: Unknown Year 2004 Bowl: Shore Bowl Author: C. Grant Law Contact info: ext 310 IMCS, Rutgers University 71 Dudley Rd. New Brunswick, NJ 08901

QUESTION Round:Time: 3 minutesStandard/Category: Biology QUESTION: Imagine Tate Regan’s surprise (and disgust perhaps), back in the twenties when he realized the tiny parasitic fish attached to his large, female ceratioid anglerfish was actually a male anglerfish! 1)This bizarre form of partnership is not known in shallow water anglerfish. What is different about the deep sea that makes this arrangement beneficial for these fishes? Offer 2 possible benefits. (10 points) 2) The lumpy knobs (caruncles) protruding from this female’s back (see above) are bioluminescent organs. How might they help facilitate reproduction. Offer 2 possible effects. (10 points)

ANSWER Round:Time: 2 minutesStandard/Category: Biology QUESTION/ANSWERS: 1)This bizarre form of partnership is not known in shallow water anglerfish. What is different about the deep sea that makes this arrangement beneficial for these fishes? Offer two potential benefits (5 points each) ANSWER: - Low population densities make it hard for mates to find each other, but for parasitic males one encounter is enough to insure a partner through many mating cycles. - Because prey is so hard to come by in the deep sea, female anglerfish can’t afford to be finicky. A small male is as likely to become a meal to the female as any other small fish. Attaching oneself to the female may therefore help the male avoid being eaten while mating. - There are many other predators in the deep sea which could also make a meal of the tiny males. By attaching themselves to the large females, the males are afforded some protection. 2)The lumpy knobs (caruncles) protruding from the female’s back (see above) are bioluminescent organs. How might they help facilitate reproduction. Offer two possible effects (5 points each) ANSWER:- The caruncles may make the female easier for males to find (in fact, larval males possess large, bowl-shaped eyes which degenerate after attachment, thus suggesting the importance of sight to the search for mates). - The shape and location of the caruncles may help the males recognize a female of the appropriate species. - The caruncles may function like landing lights on an airport runway, guiding males along the safest route to the site of attachment (I.e., away from the mouth!). EEllis, R, 1996, Deep Atlantic. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (p. 274)