US-Africa Workshop: Building Collaborations in Freshwater Fish Biodiversity Research in Africa

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This award funds a November 2008 workshop at the South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) in Grahamstown, South Africa, that aims to build collaborations between U.S. and African fish biologists and to promote research on freshwater fish biodiversity across the continent of Africa. The workshop is being organized by Dr. Henry Bart of Tulane University, one of the US investigators in the NSF-funded Cypriniform Tree of Life Project, and Dr. Paul Skelton at SAIAB. Although the African continent supports a rich diversity of freshwater fishes, there has been little research conducted to document and understand much of that diversity. The proposed workshop will bring together experts from the U.S. and Africa to identify those fish taxa and geographic regions where the potential for collaboration is greatest. The workshop will feature panel discussions, presentations and working meetings to address both the most exciting areas of scientific advancement, as well as the challenges of field collecting, establishing research collections, gaining access to computer and information tools for taxonomic research, training fish taxonomists from African countries, and securing funding for such activities in African. Representatives from African biodiversity organizations have been invited to the workshop to discuss opportunities for funding research stimulated by discussions at the workshop. The workshop will include at least 8 U.S. participants and 7 participants recruited from African countries other than South Africa, as well as researchers and students from South Africa. U.S. students (undergraduate and graduate) and postdoctoral researchers, including women and underrepresented minorities, will be given the highest priority for participating in the workshop. The five days of scientific presentations, discussion sessions and field excursions will provide workshop participants with many opportunities to develop a strong network for advancing international collaborative research on Africa freshwater fish biodiversity.