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An evolutionary ecologist, conservation biologist, and tropical ichthyologist, Associate Professor of Biology Les Kaufman is working to preserve the biological diversity of aquatic animal species and maintain fishery resources. His work takes him to very different aquatic environments-from East Africa's Lake Victoria to the Stellwagen Bank off the coast of New England.
Although these ecosystems are geographically and environmentally disparate, the human impact on them is profound. Lake Victoria, an enormous body of water the size Ireland, is home to a remarkably varied organism-the haplochromine cichlids-the fastest-evolving fish on earth with, at one time, more than 600 native species. In recent years, human influence - a combination of eutrophication or choking off of the lake's oxygen supply, overfishing, and the introduction of non-native fish species, has devastated the lake's ecosystem, killing off about half of the cichlid species. Kaufman has secured significant funding, enabling him to draw together scientists, fishermen, and government representatives from the lake's three neighboring countries to collaborate on returning stability to the lake and reviving its native fishes.
In New England Kaufman is investigating the impact of human factors on the depletion of fishing resources, including the effects of dragging and trawling on the Stellwagen Bank bottom. By working to protect the aquatic habitat of juvenile groundfish, such as cod, he is also playing a vital role in the economic survival of the fishing industry of the region.
More information about his work is available here. |
