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Fishes of the Lake Victoria Region

MCZ Fish Department Associate Les Kaufman has, since 1989, conducted field survey of patterns of fish diversity in the Lake Victoria Region, an area that encompasses lakes Victoria, Kyoga, Edward, George, and Kivu; their watersheds, including the Victoria Nile; and associated satellite lake systems in Uganda (Kooki, Nabugabo, Kyoga), Kenya (Yala and South Nyanza), and Tanzania (Mara and Kagera). The objectives of the study are:

To complete the picture of the haplochromine fauna of this region, insofar as this is now possible (taxonomy, phylogeny, speciation mechanisms).
To document patterns of fish species loss and persistence during the current mass extinction event.
To provide the taxonomic foundation for species conservation and adaptive management in Lake Victoria and adjacent regions.
To assist Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in establishing host country reference collections and aquatic biodiversity survey capabilities (emphasis on aquatic vertebrates, aquatic insects, zooplankton, phytoplankton, and aquatic macrophytes).

Specimen acquisition is occurring in three phases:

1989 - 1992 Trawl catches in Kenyan waters of Lake Victoria
1992 - 1995 Fish surveys in Kenyan and Ugandan watersheds
1996 - 2002 Full aquatic biodiversity surveys of Lake Victoria under the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Programme, and continuing studies of satellite lakes.

Fish taxonomic studies (including morphometric and genetic analyses) are being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Paul Fuerst, Ohio State University; the Haplochromine Ecology Survey Team, Leiden University (The Netherlands), Drs. Lauren and Colin Chapman of the University of Florida, and others.

All specimens will be stored at the MCZ, except for material returned to host country museums as vouchers or distributed as reference material to other major museums.

This project is suported by the National Science Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, New England Aquarium, and other sources.

For additional information about this work or the Lake Victoria Research Team, the Lake Victoria Fishes Species Survival Plan (American Zoo and Aquarium Association) or the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Programme (The World Bank), contact: Dr. Les Kaufman, Boston University Marine Program, Phone: 617-353-5560, lesk@bio.bu.edu