Darwin's Dreampond: Drama on Lake Victoria [Paperback]

Tijs Goldschmidt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0262571218 | ISBN-13: 978-0262571210 | Publication Date: February 6, 1998

Dazzling in their variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, the cichlids (small perch-like fishes) of Lake Victoria, like the finches of the Galapagos Islands and Hawaii's Honeycreepers, have been geographically isolated long enough to undergo unusually broad speciation. These small fish form a species flock -- closely related species that have descended from a common ancestor and radiated, or fanned, into different specializations -- that is the most spectacular in the world, fascinating anatomists, ecologists, ethologists, and evolutionary biologists alike. The process of speciation was still under way until just recently, when the introduction of the large, predatory Nile perch so disrupted the Lake's intricate ecosystem that the glorious spectrum of cichlids has almost vanished.Darwin's Dreampond tells the evolutionary story of the extraordinary "furu" and the battlefield leading to extinction. Tijs Goldschmidt skillfully blends a masterful discussion of the principles of neo-Darwinian evolution and speciation with a history of Lake Victoria's ecosystem. The science unfolds in the context of the engaging first-person narrative of Goldschmidt's adventures and misadventures as a field researcher. An astute observer and a clear and witty writer, he warmly portrays the colors and textures of the landscapes and the lives of the local people as he interacts with them during the course of his fieldwork.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tijs Goldschmidt, a Dutch biologist, has been working for several years along the shores of East Africa's Lake Victoria, a freshwater sea the size of Switzerland. There he has chronicled the changing fortunes of the genus Haplochromis, made up of perchlike fish that differentiate into new species faster than any other vertebrates. Their numbers, however, fell precipitously after the Dutch government funded a fishery industry that harvested 60 tons of these cichlids daily; this industry also introduced nonnative species of fish that threatened to destroy the indigenous fauna. Goldschmidt writes of the mechanics of extinction--a process he says many biologists are loath to describe, for there "is always the hope that somewhere, hidden away, unnoticed, several individuals are still thriving." Students of population biology in particular will find this book of urgent value. --Gregory McNamee

From Publishers Weekly

There is a whimsical quality to this engaging first-person narrative of a Dutch biologist in a Tanzanian fishing village. There is also a lot of science. Goldschmidt joined an environmental impact study at Lake Victoria in the 1980s and encountered the furu, a fish whose radiation into hundreds of species far exceeds Darwin's better-known Galapagos Island finches. After introducing a "species flock" that includes creatures with such monikers as mud-biters, scale-scrapers, and snail-crushers, Goldschmidt guides the reader through a jungle of evolutionary theory that gets a bit eye-glazing at times. Fortunately, he is equally devoted to his comic misadventures among bureaucrats, missionaries, fisherfolk and fellow mzungu, or European "wanderers." Meanwhile, the prolific Nile perch, introduced in 1985 and hailed as the savior of the Tanzanian economy, appears to be bringing the furu's evolution to an abrupt end. In an early scene that might stand for both the wanderer's predicament and that of the furu, Goldschmidt questions an old man to determine if an expected Dutch boat could get stuck in a narrow Tanzanian tunnel: "'If I understand you correctly, everything can and cannot pass through the tunnel?' 'Eh,' said the old man, grinning broadly... 'You couldn't have put it better. Wewe mwenjiji, you are one of us. Welcome.'"
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (February 6, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262571218
• ISBN-13: 978-0262571210
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,402,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cichilds, culture, and literary imagination!, February 23, 2001

By 

Anon (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darwin's Dreampond: Drama on Lake Victoria (Paperback)

This is one of those rare science books that combines wonderful science with excellent, well-imagined and carefully executed writing. The book focuses on the cichlids of Lake Victoria and seeks to explore why there are so many species of these fish living in one location. This "species flock" is under pressure and species are fast disappearing--they may be, as a phenomenon, one of the great natural wonders of the world.

The facts about the fish alone are amazing. There is no end to the amazing features and abilities these creatures have developed. Their variety is overwhelming. And it is described here in an incredibly poignant way that fills you with wonder at the power of evolution and variety of life on earth.

Goldschmidt has such a huge and inquistive mind that contemplating fish alone is not enough--life in all its forms seeps in. He connects his bout with malaria to a discussion on recessivity, the marital situation with his asstistant to the topic of sexual selection, the concepts of adaptive radiation with the culture of the area. It is a book that links scientific inquiry and insight with real life interactions, with the work and conditions of being a scientist, with the landscape and people around him. You get a sense of what the work of a field biologist is like and at the same time,you are introduced to some of the more technical aspects of evolutionary biology. And it is all done with enormous literary flair and affection for the subject. This is the kind of book that makes you rethink your career and sign up for as a volunteer to do field work.

Anyone interested in ciclids, evolutionary biology or just great nature writing will enjoy this enormously.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A well written intellectual adventure, December 18, 1999

By 

Chris Rippel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darwin's Dreampond: Drama on Lake Victoria (Paperback)

Darwin's Dreampond is a story written on several levels. On one level, the story is about the speciation and extinction through predation by Nile perch and human fisherman of hundreds of cichlid species in Lake Victoria. At the end, readers get some relief with indications that new species are developing to replace those lost.

On a another level, the book is the intellectual adventure of a field zoologist trying to understand cichlids by reviewing evolutionary ideas and observations in other species and applying them to what he is observing. So, in addition to cichlids, readers learn about DNA, how natural selection creates evolution, the benefits of sickle-cell anemia, mimicry in butterflies, sexual selection in sticklebacks, the niches of different species of vultures, life among Tanzanians, and more.

People who appreciate good writing should know that the original Dutch version was nominated for two science writing awards and one literature award. It won one of the science writing awards.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Was Darwin right?, November 10, 2006

By 

Shelly Weaver "40 something student" (Franklin, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Darwin's Dreampond: Drama on Lake Victoria (Paperback)

I needed this book for a biology class and, at first, was not thrilled to have to read it. However, after starting to read it, I Did find it very interesting. It really tought me a lot about how species evolve and how some actually change so much that they become another species.
It also showed me how one species can almost whipe out a nimber of species.
Thhis is VERY good reading for anyone in the science field.