SEMINAR: The Biodiversity and Evolutionary Ecology of Myctophidae.

Lanternfishes of the family Myctophidae inhabit depths of 200-1000m, are some of the most abundant fishes in the global oceans and are central to pelagic food webs. However, the deep pelagic remains the least explored of all marine environments and as a result comparatively little is known about deep pelagic biodiversity and how future environmental changes will affect the species occupying these depths. My PhD aims to fill this gap. First I will show that by collating genetic, characteristic and ecological data we can investigate the diversification of Myctophidae through time and space. Then, focusing on species from the Southern Ocean, I will discuss how species distribution modelling can be used to predict future range shifts. I will also touch upon the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) and its potential application as a biodiversity monitoring tool in the open ocean. Finally, I will introduce an art-science collaboration project with which I am involved, that aims to communicate the content of scientific papers in a new, creative way.