US-Kenya Planning Visit: Impact of an Exotic Crayfish on Native Kenyan Freshwater Communities

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9724723 Lodge This is a planning visit award for Dr. David M. Lodge, of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, to travel to Kenya to meet with Dr. Kenneth M. Mavuti, of the Department of Zoology at the University of Nairobi, and Dr. Gerald M. Mkoji, of the Biomedical Sciences Research Centre at the Kenya Medical Research Institute. The purpose of the visit is to develop a cooperative research activity to evaluate the impact of the North American crayfish Procambarus clarkii on the biota of Kenya's freshwater lakes and wetlands. This species of crayfish was introduced for aquaculture, but is now being considered as a biological control agent for freshwater snails that are vectors for schistosomiasis (a major cause of disease in Africa). This study should add significant new knowledge about the impact an exotic species of crayfish has had on the local ecosystems in the lakes and wetlands of Kenya. Funding for this project is being provided jointly by the Division of International Programs and the Division of Environmental Biology. ***