Dr. Rene P. Martin

Incoming Assistant Professor: University of Nebraska - Lincoln

I am an incoming Assistant Professor in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. I earned my B.S. and M.S. in Ecology and Field Biology from St. Cloud State University (MN) and my Ph.D. from the University of Kansas (KS). Although my B.S. and freshwater fieldwork experience lies in the realm of natural resources and fisheries, my graduate work focused on studying the evolution and diversification of deep-sea fishes. I am currently a postdoctoral Gerstner Scholar at the American Museum of Natural History (NY) studying the bioluminescent light organs of deep-sea fishes.

GENERAL / Postdoctoral RESEARCH INTERESTS

My past and current research focuses on answering questions pertaining to the evolution of lanternfishes (Myctophidae) and other deep-sea fish lineages. Lanternfishes are an extremely abundant and bioluminescent pelagic fish group. They eat large amounts of zooplankton and are prey for a variety of organisms, playing a major role in oceanic ecosystems. Lanternfishes, along with being abundant, are highly diverse for a pelagic fish lineage. My work includes creating phylogenetic hypotheses of genus-level relationships within Myctophidae using various types of data (e.g. ultraconserved elements, gene sequences, morphological characters), and using them as frameworks to investigate evolutionary questions related to lanternfish evolution and diversification. I am also interested in habitat transitions within closely related (order and family level) fishes and exploring the resulting morphological changes within a phylogenetic context.

My postdoctoral research at the American Museum of Natural History is currently focused on describing the anatomy and morphology of photophores and light organs in multiple groups of bioluminescent fishes, including the lanternfishes, ponyfishes, and tubeshoulders.

Skill and Experience

My skills and experiences include, but are not limited to:
- Geometric morphometrics
- Molecular lab work (e.g., extractions and amplification)
- micro-CT use and data analysis
- Phylogenetic analyses
- Freshwater collection techniques (e.g., seins, juglines, electrofishing, trap nets, gill nets)
- SEM use and data analysis
- Museum curation and use of wet collection specimens
- Curation and use of cryogenic facilities
- Morphological analyses
- Comparative phylogenetic methods and macroevolutionary methods

EMAIL

rmartin@amnh.org

Current Location

American Museum of Natural History

200 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024

AMNH

PUBLICATIONS

See CV page for links to PDFs of publications

Google Scholar

10. Martin, R. P., Dias, A., Summers, A. P., & Gerringer, M. E. (2022). Bone density variation in rattails (Macrouridae, Gadiformes): Buoyancy, Depth, Body Size, and Feeding. Integrative and Organismal Biology, 4, obac044.

09. Martin, R. P., Lopez Carranza, N., LaVine, R. J., & Lieberman, B. S. (2022). Morphological evolution during the last hurrah of the trilobites: Morphometric analysis of the Devonian asteropyginid trilobites. Paleobiology.

08. Smith, W. L., Ghedotti, M. J., Domínguez-Domínguez, O., McMahan, C. D., Espinoza, E., Martin, R. P., Girard, M. G., & Davis, M. P. (2022) Investigations into the ancestry of the Grape-eye Seabass (Hemilutjanus macrophthalmos) reveal novel limits and relationships for the Acropomatiformes (Teleostei: Percomorpha). Neotropical Ichthyology, 20, 03.

07. Martin, R. P., Davis, M. P., & Smith, W. L. (2022). The impact of evolutionary trade-offs among bioluminescent organs and body shape in the deep sea: A case study on lanternfishes. Deep-sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research, 184, 103769.

06. Girard, M. G., Davis, M. P., Baldwin, C. C., Martin, R. P., Smith, W. L. (2022). Molecular phylogeny of the threadfin fishes (Polynemidae) using ultraconserved elements. Journal of Fish Biology, 100, 793–810.

05. Maile, A. J., May, Z. A., DeArmon, E. S., Martin, R. P., & Davis, M. P. (2020). Marine habitat transitions and body-shape evolution in lizardfishes and their allies (Aulopiformes). Copeia, 108, 820-832.

04. Martin, R. P., and Davis, M. P. (2020). The evolution of specialized dentition in the deep‐sea lanternfishes (Myctophiformes). Journal of Morphology. 281, 536–555. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.21120

03. Smith, W.L., Buck, C.A., Ornay, G.S., Davis, M.P., Martin, R.P., Gibson, S.Z., and Girard, M.G. (2018) Improving vertebrate skeleton images: Fluorescence and the non-permanent mounting of cleared-and-stained specimens. Copeia. 106, 427–435.

02. Martin, R.P., Olson, E.E., Girard, M.G., Smith, W.L., and Davis, M.P. (2018) Light in the darkness: New perspective on lanternfish relationships and classification using genomic and morphological data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 121, 71–85 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2017.12.029

01. Martin, R.P., and Davis, M.P. (2016) Patterns of phenotypic variation in the mouth size of lanternfishes (Teleostei: Myctophiformes). Copeia. 104, 795–807.