IKCP

you are here: home » action plan

webmaster: email

Membership

1. The project is called the 'International Killifish Conservation Project'
2. Membership is free to anyone belonging to a Killifish Association.
3. Each individual member agrees to maintain his nominated species for a minimum of 2 years.
4. Each participating Association nominates a national program coordinator who is responsible for each Association's conservation program.
5. Each participating Association nominates group coordinators and further species coordinators fore each of the species groups (if necessary) which manage the group activities and the core species breeding activities, respectively.
6. Each national program coordinator is going to send the webmaster (at the end of every second month) a report with details of any new additions or losses, and also any fish in need of pairing. This information will be used to compile a bi-monthly report within the projects site.
7. Each individual member agrees to exchange breeding stocks with other members of the program free of charge according to decisions made by the species coordinator.
8. A fish & egg list is available on the site to project members in a password-protected area.

Core Species Selection

The species and populations suggested for the conservation project, are choosen by a multistep process. This process involves the following steps:

Step 1. Presentation of a core species candidate:

Any national coordinator can present to the other members a candidate for a core species. The coordinator will need to include a justification based on the existing KCC criteria that is inlcuded in Rev. A pages 7 and 8 of the program manual. This justification can be submitted in a short form.

Step 2. Discussion:

The members will discuss whether the fish should be included. This discussion period can be extended for up to two months if necessary.

Step 3. The Decision:

The discussion period is immediately followed by a vote. After a given deadline, no further votes can be accepted. Based on this vote, a decision will be made for the introduction of the suggested species to the program.

Species Selection Criteria

Species eglible for suggestions must meet at least all of the mandatory criteria. It is preferred that one or more of the additional criteria noted below be met. It is possible to select a core species that does not meet any of the additional criteria, but such is to be avoided unless it is impossible to do so.

Mandatory Criteria

1. The collection locality or region should be known to avoid crossbreeding with genetically different and possibly incompatible lineages.

   Note: This criteria does not prevent selection of aquarium strains, especially where specific locations are not common for the species.

2. There is an expectation that the maintenance requirements of the fish are feasible with current aquarium technology, and that the fish can be bred under aquarium conditions.
   
   
3. The fish is or will soon be available in the hobby, and is not highly inbred.

   Note: For all practical purposes, only species that are currently available are selected.

Additional Criteria

In addition to the mandatory criteria, each candidates should fulfill one or more of the following equally valid criteria.

1. The species is considered a representative phenotype of a larger group of similar or closely related killifish. [This criteria is designatd by the term "Representative" in the following analysis.]
   
   Or ..
   
   
2. The species is unique, showing little or no relationship to other killifish species or groups (e.g., the only species of a genus, such as Adamas formosus or Lamprichthys tanganicanus. [This criteria is designatd by the term "Unique" in the following analysis. ]
   
   Or ..
   
   
3. The species is vulnerable to extinction because of a small natural range. This criteria is designatd by the term "Endangered" in the following analysis.

Note: A species may be both an ESP fish and a core species. In such cases however, only one breeder team functions.

Although not specific to these criteria, selection of more than one core species that fulfills the intent of these criteria is discouraged. In essence, we are not looking to duplicate core species.

Program Coordinators

There are many open position at the group coordinator or at the species coordinator level. If you are interested in any of the open positions, please inform the respective national coordinator. The group coordinators may also accept suggestions for further core species. If you want to open a new breeding program please contact the respective group coordinator for your country or contact Axel Schwekendiek if none is available. Please feel also free to contact the respective species coordinator, if you want to join the breeding group for a particular core species.

Please go back to the core species list to see a list of current program coordinators.