On The Ground in Malawi: Ken McKaye

Underwater Scientist

Cichlid fishes hold a world record. No other family among the whole vertebrate kingdom has as many different species. No other family exhibits such extraordinary, varied and surprising behaviour. 

And nobody knows more about the perplexing ways of these colourful creatures than Kenneth MacKaye - the world’s leading expert on cichlid ecology and behaviour.

Working in a tranquil world

A professor at the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Science, Ken now spends a large part of his time in Lake Malawi National Park. His workplace extends both underwater and on the ground.

Ken’s job along with his friends Dr. Jay Stauffer and Dr. Ad Konings is to discover new cichlid species, describe them - and find ways to save them from extinction.

Ken enjoys his work of diving and watching fish, observing details that nobody else has noticed and then sharing this knowledge with the world.

Ken, Jay and Ad keep looking for and describing new species, in order that, in the future, we discover the full variety of these unique fishes. At the same time, they prepare guide books for both locals and tourists. This includes an underwater fish guide: a collection of plastic, water-proof sheets with fish photos that become a reference for anyone snorkeling or diving.

A combination of research and conservation

The fish world of Lake Malawi is seriously threatened by overfishing. Ken is busily involved in the conservation efforts. Together with his colleague Alison Wiklund, Ken is one of the leading figures in the project of WWF Finland. Ken and Alison enjoy working together at the interface of art and science - trying to find ways to interpret the data and make it accessible and realistic for the rural communities.

Ken is committed to conserving the newly discovered cichlids and not letting them disappear. In a way, the whole Lake Malawi National Park is also a child of Ken’s: the establishment of the park in the early 1980’s, was in part due to his efforts. He wrote up the proposals and collected the scientific evidence that resulted in the area being classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

He recalls that this was the first national park in the world that was created for fresh-water fish. Soon afterwards, he was also instrumental in persuading WWF US to build an Environmental Education Centre at Lake Malawi National Park.

A pragmatic radical

Asked about what kind of a person he thinks he is, Ken sees himself as a radical of the 1960’s, who later on became more pragmatic. He is also a rolling stone that gathers no moss: he never stays long in any one place.

Back in the 1970’s, Ken carried out his Ph.D. on cichlids in Nicaragua. He was one the first scientists in the world to study cichlid behaviour while scuba diving in the natural habitat – not only in aquariums. Today, he still has a research and conservation project going on in Nicaragua, in addition to the one in Malawi. And he spends time with his family on two other continents. “Malawi, Nicaragua, USA, and Finland all feel like home to me”, he smiles.

Packaging science an integrated and collaborative effort

Saving the unique fish diversity of Lake Malawi is a huge task that takes not only scientific expertise, but also a lot of talking and political lobbying. He emphasizes the point that packaging the science so that it is understandable to everyone is critical. It is important that scientists work with artists, social scientists, politicians, and others if they hope to conserve important areas such as the Lake Malawi Ecoregion.

Concerned about fish extinction, bilharzia, AIDS

Asked about what he likes least about his job, Ken thinks for a while and admits he is most concerned by the threatened extinction of the fish species of Lake Malawi National Park and the difficulties of convincing the fishermen and Park guards to work together. He is also worried about the high incidence of bilharzia and the possible link with the HIV/AIDS virus that is ravaging whole communities. Then there are the smaller everyday irritants such as having everything ready for his well-prepared fish-counting day and then finding out that none of the staff had remembered to buy any fuel for the boat...

What kind of advice would Ken give to other people doing similar work? “Don’t give up”, the scientist answers, with a serious tone. And then, with a grin, comes the other absolute necessity: “Keep a sense of humour!”