A Portable Underwater Assessment Unit

解释在非洲五大湖中观察到的慈鱼物种形成的空前速度，仍然是一个令人兴奋的悬而未决的科学问题。这些鱼类生活的湖泊，其惊人的物种形成速度为它们赢得了“达尔文的梦幻池塘”的绰号。鱼本身有令人眼花缭乱的一系列颜色、形状和大小，并表现出惊人的各种行为。了解鱼类辐射的这种多样性和程度，使许多进化生物学家，包括提出这一要求的调查人员，提出了一个流动水下评估小组的要求。巴尔肖恩博士和她的学生自1997年以来一直在坦噶尼喀湖(赞比亚海岸)开展研究。这个团队最初用于水下研究的设备已经不再运行，现在迫切需要更换设备，以确保研究人员的健康和安全。所要求的移动式水下评估工具将促进广泛的行为和生态实地研究项目，这些项目与麦克马斯特大学正在进行的受控实验室实验相互联系。该设备将使一名水生行为生态学家和她的大型生产性研究小组能够继续，并扩大他们对偏远的坦噶尼喀湖慈鱼的长期研究，坦噶尼喀湖是世界第二深的湖，也是非洲五大湖中最古老的湖。这一脆弱的淡水生态系统目前正受到全球变化的威胁，该地区的科学设施从简陋到根本不存在。所需设备将支持发现号基础研究(行为生态学、动物行为学、动物行为学、神经生理学、分子生物学)和跨学科研究(探索全球变化和环境影响的影响)，并将在未来5年为超过35名学生和许多科学家同行提供培训。

Explaining the unprecedented speed of speciation observed among the cichlid fishes of the Great Lakes of Africa remains an exciting outstanding scientific question. The amazing rate of cichlid speciation has earned the lakes in which these fish live the apt nickname "Darwin's Dream Ponds." The fish themselves come in a dazzling array of colours, shapes and sizes and demonstrate a spectacular variety of behaviours. Understanding this diversity and extent of the fish radiation has occupied many an evolutionary biologist including the investigator making this request for a Mobile Underwater Assessment Unit. Dr. Balshine and her students have maintained a research presence in Lake Tanganyika (on the Zambian shores) since 1997. The equipment that this team originally relied on for their underwater research is no longer operational and replacement is now desperately needed to ensure both health and safety of the researchers. The requested mobile underwater assessment tools will facilitate a wide range of behavioural and ecological field based research projects that interconnect with ongoing controlled laboratory experiments based at McMaster University. The equipment will allow an aquatic behavioural ecologist and her large productive research group to continue, and expand their long-term study of cichlid fishes in remote Lake Tanganyika, the second deepest lake in the world and the oldest of the African Great Lakes. This fragile freshwater ecosystem is currently under threat from global change and the scientific facilities in the area range from rudimentary to non-existent. The equipment requested will support both basic Discovery research (behavioural ecology, animal behaviour, animal behavior, neurophysiology, molecular biology), interdisciplinary research (exploring effects of global change and environmental impacts), and will contribute to the training of over 35 students, and many fellow scientists over the next 5 years.