Lake Victoria, the second largest lake in the world, is also one of the most speciose, with hundreds of native cichlid fishes that evolved in the Lake and are found nowhere else. The Lake is currently undergoing a mass extinction of these fishes, one of the most extreme disruptions ever observed in so large a body of water. In 1989, a Lake Victoria Research Team, consisting of US and African scientists, was established to study the Lake and provide recommendations to ameliorate the situation. This award will fund a workshop so that the Team members, along with other scientists, can determine what we already know about Lake Victoria, examine the dynamics of change in the Lake, and begin to craft an action plan for conserving the Lake Victoria Basin. Central to these discussions will be concern about the biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics of the lake, fisheries and watershed management, and lake basin development.
