9629366 DIMMICK Lake Tana supports the largest freshwater fishery resource in the East African nation of Ethiopia. A key element of this fishery is a group of African carps (genus Barbus). The adult Barbus carps in Lake Tana can be separated into fourteen different morphological types (morphotypes), varying in size, shape, habitat within the lake, and feeding preferences. These morphotypes may represent variants of a single species, any of whose members may breed with any other, or they may represent up to fourteen distinct species, each incapable of breeding with any other form. Strategies for conserving the Lake Tana biota, and for managing its fishery, will differ significantly depending on whether the carps belong to one species or many. Also, the Lake Tana Barbus likely will provide scientists with important information on how living species change in a particular place over time. Walter Dimmick, with his colleagues and students, will attempt to determine the number of Barbus species present in Lake Tana by comparing several different types of molecular data from each of the morphotypes, including sequences from several mitochondrial and nuclear genes and variations in regions of short repeated DNA sequences ("microsatellites"). Cooperative activities include collaborative fieldwork with a team of three scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Participation by Native American students in the project, and in related teaching and research activities at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, will provide opportunities for these students to assess and pursue careers in systematic biology.
