Fund Ken's Expedition to Discover Colombia's Killifish

My name is Ken Normandin and I am looking for fund to travel to Columbia to assist in ichthyological research.

My goal is to travel to Columbia. I will be traveling to Pana Pana which is a little village in Eastern Columbia. Guaiania is known as the Land of Many Waters. There is much discovery and research needed in this area. As industrialization and expansion threaten environments, it is vital to capture as much of the biodiversity to science as possible. Due to the extreme remote environment, recovering the species in the Inírida River is most challenging and most necessary.

So Why These Fish?

We are looking for 3 species of the killifish genus Rivulus. I am very excited due to the distinct red and yellow coloring in these creatures! 2 of the species can be found outside of Pana Pana. The 3rd species described in the paper will be caught with my local partner, Daniel Meija. While I can’t tell you the names or any specifics, these fish were discovered in 2015 during my first trip to Columbia. This paper is almost 10 years in the making!

If you can contribute to these two expeditions it will contribute directly to filling in missing knowledge of biodiversity in that area and pave the way for a complete and more long-awaited picture of species richness in South-East Colombia, now and in the near future.

So Does It Have to be Me?

I want to undertake this expedition for Frans Vermeulen since the end of 2021, his wife was diagnosed with cancer. As a result, travel is not possible anymore and he seeks the distraction in describing species new to science.

Since the work Frans is currently working on lacks some data on submission, it cannot be accepted for publication. We are looking to collect live data both to describe new species and confirm a previously described specimen from 1992. In this way, we are confirming old taxa and adding to the body of biodiversity in the academic research.

The comparison fish is also important because we can’t submit the paper without it! Without this comparison, our manuscript is not acceptable to the reviewers and thus for publication. Since Frans cannot travel, he has asked Ken Normandin and Daniel Mejia, each separately, to take on one of these assignments. It is for these two assignments that I ask for funding.

So why me?

Ever since I was a kid, I can remember there always being at least one aquarium in the house. When I was 10 and living with my grandparents in Blackstone, Massachusetts, my uncle (who was still living at home….) was keeping and breeding show guppies in several (I think it was around 20 or so) aquariums. That was my first real exposure to breeding tropical fish and it snowballed from there. Also, during this time I also developed a liking for exploring the local streams and ponds in search of whatever “critters” I could find. I think you know where this is heading…..!

Fast-forward 15 years to 1984…. I got my first introduction to killies, at a local killifish show at the exhibition halls at Balboa Park. I was absolutely in awe of just about every fish I saw and I had to find out more. I contacted the local San Diego club as advertised at the show and attended my first killifish meeting with the likes of Monty Lehman, John Pitcairn, Russ Feilzer and other names I can’t remember. However, this was to be a short foray into the killie hobby since family and military obligations took precedence.

After some life changes and a military transfer to Jacksonville, FL in 1992, I once again started looking for killifish contacts. By chance I was referred to and contacted Mark Rodriguez in Tampa, FL. I made the trip to his house and after he showed me around his “fish room” (actually in his living room) we spoke for a few hours about killies. I left there with several pairs of killies (blue gularis and others), as well as contact information for the AKA. At this time I also renewed my love for tromping through the waterways in search of my own “wild fish”.

Currently, I maintain approximately 300 tanks, mostly filled with my favorite genus, Rivulus, of which I maintain about 70 species/locations as well as my other passion, native fishes and killies. I also still enjoy going on collecting trips, most notably trips to Panama 2006, 2009 and 2012, as well as Colombia in 2015, 2016 and 2023. I have also been privileged to be able to assist several scientific institutions by providing living and preserved samples for genetic research. I have had the honor of being invited to speak on my favorite genus at several local club shows and have been a speaker at five AKA national conventions.

I have been a past member of the BOT of the American Killifish Association for 9 years between 2013 and 2023, the last 3 years as AKA BOT Chairman and am a former chairman of the Rivulus sub-committee of the AKA’s Killifish Conservation Committee and I have been honored by the AKA as Killifish Hobbyist of the Year for 2000 and 2023.