PLANT AND ANIMAL SCIENCES

BY FRANCISCO J. AYALA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California Irvine, Calif.

" The great lakes of Africa each contain a unique radiation of cichlids. Lake Tanganyika has more than 140 endemic species, Lake Victoria more than 200, and Lake Malawi about 500. Around 1960, the Nile perch, a piscivorous fish, was introduced in Lake Victoria in order to improve the fisheries, but it has eaten its way through much of the lake and caused a dramatic decrease in the number of species and fish biomass in the lake. This should provide a clear warning against the proposed introduction of exotic fish in Lake Malawi.

DJ. Miller, “Introductions and extinction of fish in the African great lakes,” Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 4,56-8, February 1989.

" Genetic diversity is very high among natural clones of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas cepacia,...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member?