The development of molecular methods for the study of Rickettsia also, fortuitously, permitted the development of molecular approaches to the study of endangered species of fish. The initiation of the studies on fish was prompted in part through longterm interactions which I had maintained with biologists at the Columbus Zoo (I had served on their research advisory council since the early 1980's, advising them on matters of zoo policy related to the genetics of their animal breeding programs). My interests in the genetic theory of small populations together with success in applying DNA methods to the analysis of population structure resulted in my agreement to become involved in the examination of the genetics of captive breeding populations of endangered East African fishes. These studies are now reaching maturity, through funding from an NSF grant, and collaboration with a scientist, Dr. Les Kaufman, at Boston University. They have resulted in two Ugandan scientists entering my laboratory for doctoral studies, and several other African scientists visiting for various lengths of time for training in the genetics of fish.

In addition to the initiation research into the genetics of East African fishes, the collaboration with workers at the Columbus Zoo also resulted in a decision to host a major international conference on the "Conservation Genetics and Evolutionary Ecology of the Lake Victoria Cichlids". I was the chairman of this meeting, and over two hundred scientists attended, including workers from Uganda, Kenya, Israel, Netherlands, Germany, England, Canada and the US. The meeting was a major success and has stimulated cooperation among aquaria in North America and Europe to collaborate with African institutions in a major restoration project involving the captive management and planned reintroduction of over forty species which have been either extirpated or severely reduced in the Lake Victoria basin.