Applications are solicited annually for grants from the Jordan Endowment Fund of the American Cichlid Association. Applications close on April 30 of each year. The goal is to support research on any aspect of the biology of cichlid fishes, irrespective of status, nationality, or membership in the American Cichlid Association.
The original and two copies of the application (see format below), postmarked no later than April 30, should be sent to:
Dr Michael Kidd
Texas A&M International University
5201 University Boulevard
Laredo, TX 78041
The awards are announced at the American Cichlid Association’s National Convention. The Convention is normally held in mid- to late-summer, and the money is dispatched soon thereafter to the applicants named. Individual grants are typically in the range of $600 to $1,500, depending on the amount available each year and the number and quality of the applicants.
Application Format
Start with a cover letter saying a bit about the relevance of your proposed goals to cichlid biology. An e-mail address is helpful. The text of the application, including a brief but informative title, should consist of no more than five pages (double-spaced, 1″ margins and 12 point font). The Introduction should place the research in the pertinent literature, clearly state the objectives, and explain the significance of the anticipated findings. The Methods sections should be brief but sufficiently detailed to assess the reality of the project in relation to the stated objectives. Although this funding is not aimed at conservation issues, a brief mention of the relevance of your project to conservation would be enlightening to the ACA Board of Trustees. Append a separate section for
Literature Cited
Provide separately a detailed budget, listing the items in order of priority, if possible, because some awards may be reduced below the requested amount. Give a separate, short, section justifying the budget items. We also need from you a list of any and all other financial support available or anticipated for this and related research.
Please enclose a curriculum vitae (not to exceed one page, single spaced) with home address, phone number, e-mail address and, for citizens of the United States, a social security number. List separately any personal publications within the past five years.
Award Condition
An easily fulfilled and pleasant condition of accepting an award is that the recipient shall publish a short popular account of the findings in Buntbarsche Bulletin (the journal of the American Cichlid Association); photos in the article are welcome, even for a lab study, and including one of yourself. Of course, the investigator is expected first and foremost to publish the findings in a referenced scientific periodical. We expect the recipient to acknowledge support from the Jordan Endowment Fund in any publication resulting from the support.
The history of the Jordan Endowment Fund was published in the Buntbarsche Bulletin issue 226 (February 2005) in the article “A BOG’s History of the Guy D. Jordan Endowment Fund” by Wayne S. Leibel (updated by the author as “A BOG’s History of the Guy D Jordan Endowment Fund – Revisited” in issue 292 [June 2017]).
The American Cichlid Association is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Donations to the ACA are tax-deductible.
Recipients:
1986
Axel Meyer, University of California, Berkeley– Morphological/trophic plasticity in Parachromis managuensis.
Marcie Friedman, University of California, Berkeley
– Reproductive ecology of Herichthys minkleyi at Cuatro Cienegas.
Peter Wimburger, Cornell University
– Morphological/trophic plasticity in Geophagus steindachneri.
1987
Gordon McGregor Reid, Horniman Museum, England– Conservation of Lake Victorian Cichlids.
1988
Robert Lavery, Queen’s University (Canada)– Parental Investment in the Convict Cichlid.
1989
Anthony Ribbink, JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology (South Africa)– Status of Tilapia guianasana.
1990
Dan Fromm, Cherry Hill, NJ– Geographic Variation in Amphilophus alfari.
1991
David B. Jepsen, Deptartment of Wildlife and Fisheries Science, Texas A&M University1992
Ivan Chase, Ph.D., State University of New York, Stony Brook– Dominance in Lake Malawi Mbuna.
1993
Paul George Sackley, Harvard University1994
Craig S. Berg Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Ronald N. Coleman Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, L.A. Marian, Nadurai Kamarzj University (India)– The Cichlid Egg Project – laboratory.
1995
J. Jasper Lament, University of Miami– Exotic “C.” uropthalmus in Florida Waterways.
Ronald N. Coleman Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
– The Cichlid Egg Project – field.
1996
J. Todd Streelman, University of South Florida1997
Lauren J. Chapman, University of Florida– Cichlids of Cuatro Cienegas (Herichthys minkleyi).
1998
Karen A. Kellogg, University of Massachusetts, Amherst– Timing of Cichlid Diversification.
Wayne S. Leibel, Lafayette College
– Evolution of Mouthbrooding in Geophagine Cichlids.
1999
Kasi Jackson, University of Kentucky– Female Mating Coloration in Convict Cichlids.
Michael J. Pauers, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
– Speciation of the Polychromatic Genus Labeotropheus.
2000
Hernan Lopez Fernandez, Texas A&M University– Systematics of the South American Geophagines via DNA Sequencing.
2001
Robert Schelly, American Museum of Natural History– Revision of the Lamprologines via DNA Sequencing.
2002
Martin T. O-Connell, University of New Orleans– Movement and Population Expansion of an Exotic Cichlid (Herichthys cyanoguttatus).
Martine Maan, University of Leiden (Netherlands)
– Sexual Selection and Speciation in Lake Victoria Cichlid Fish.
2003
Susan Renn, Bauer Laboratory, Harvard University– Sex Role Reversal and Dominance Genes in African Cichlids
Brook O. Swanson, Northern Arizona University
– Trophic Polymorphism in Herichthys minkleyi.
C. Darrin Hulsey, University of California, Davis
– Population Genetics of the Texas Cichlid Herichthys cyanoguttatus.
2004
Terence Lee, University of California, Los Angeles– Female Ornamentation in the Convict Cichlid.
Lynn Drennan, California State University, Sacramento
– Female-Female Competition in the Kribensis (Pelvicachromis pulcher).
Ron Oldfield, University of Michigan
– Behavioral Influences on Sex Differentiation in the Midas Cichlid/Refurbishment of Robert Rush Miller’s Fish Lab.
2005
Lesley Hamamoto, California State, Sacramento– Infection of Convict Cichlid Eggs by Oomycete Watermolds and Parental Care.
Erin Reardon, McGill University
– Effects of Hypoxia on the Life History and Energetics of the African Cichlid, the Egyptian Mouthbrooder.
2006
Luciana Ramirez– Southern South American Eartheaters: Effects of an external Factor on Delayed Mouthbrooding Behavior.
Anthony Mazeroll
– Paternity and Gene Flow in Symphysodon aequifasciata and Pterophyllum scalare in Rio Nanay Peru.
2007
Bianka Bommarito, California State Univ, Sacramento– Does Egg Size Influence Spawning Temperature Preference in Neotropical Cichlid Fish.
Samanthat Hilber, University of Florida
– Patterns of Monogamy in a Biparental Cichlid Fish Archocentrus nigrofasciatus.
Michael Tobler, University of Oklahoma
– The Evolutionary Ecology of Two Distinct Morphotypes of Archocentrus nigrofasciatus in Northeastern Honduras
Catherine Wagner, Cornell University
– Patterns of Genetic and Morphological Diversification in Lake Tanganyika’s Tropheine Cichlids.
2008
Marcus Cohen, University of Colorado– Host-Parasite Interactions: Synodontis multipunctatus and its Cichlid Hosts.
Sandra Binning, McGill University
– Specialized Morphology for a Non-Specialized Diet: the Case of the African Cichlid.
Erica Crispo, McGill University
– Phenotypic Plasticity, Gene Flow, and Adaptive Evolutionary Diversification in African Cichlid.
Samantha Hilber, University of Florida
– Do Juvenile Convict Cichlids Recognize Parental Quality?
Kelly O’Quinn, University of Maryland
– The Visual Ecology of African Cichlid Fishes within Lakes Tanganyika and Malawi.
2009
Natalie van Breukelen, Mount Aloysius College– Interactions between Native and Immigrant Cichlid Effects: Long and Short Term Effects On Reproductive Behavior.
Suzanne Gray, McGill University
– Assessing the Influence of Increased Turbidity on African Cichlid Fish Biodiversity.
Pascal Hablutzel, University Zurich
– Intra and Interspecific Cichlid Diversity of the Bolivian Lowlands.
2010
Sam Borstein, Cal State University, Sacramento– Can Patterns of Melanophore Development in New World Cichlids be used as a Phylogenetic Character?
Ashley Rogers, University California, Santa Cruz
– Differential Allocation of Reproductive Effort due to mate Selection: A Test of Parental Care and Mate Quality in the Convict Cichlid Amatitlania nigrofasciata.
Adam Smith, University of Maryland
– Designer Eyes: Can Developmental Light Environments Determine Adult Color Vision?
2011
Martin Husemann, Baylor University– Empirical Testing for the Underlying Evolutionary Forces of Population Differentiation in Lake Malawi Rock-Dwelling Cichlids.
Joseph Leese, Lehigh University
– Sex Differences in Mate Assessment Throughout Pair Formation in a Monogamous Species Amatitlania nigrofasciata.
Jacob Lowenstein, American Museum of Natural History
– The Evolutionary Genetics of Lamprologus lethops: A Blind Cichlid from the Lower Congo Rapids.
Claire O’Quin, University Maryland
– The Genetic Basis of Pigmentation Pattern Differentiation in Lake Malawi African Cichlid Fishes.
Karen Sullam, Drexel University
– The Gut Bacterial Communities of Tanganyikan Cichlids.
Piyumika Suriyampola, University Louisville
– Do Small Females Become Fierce in Defending Its Brood to Compensate for Their Inferior Eggs?
2012
Kimberly Little, Lehigh University– Social Experience and Reproduction in Convict Cichlids.
2013
Sam Borstein, University Tennessee– Detecting Craniofacial Convergent Evolution Among Two Adaptive Radiations of African Cichlids.
Edward Burress, Auburn University
– The Evolution of Ecological Differentiation Among Lotic Species Flocks of Neotropical Cichlid Fishes.
Sarah Ramaker, University of Louisville
– Male and Female Thorichthys meeki May Use Different Traits to Evaluate a Potential Mate.
2014
Elizabeth Foster, University Louisville– Close Quarters: How Population Density Affects Signaling Behavior in the Convict Cichlid of Nicaragua.
Michael Pauers, University Wisconsin- Milwaukee
– Considering Konings’ Conjecture: The Role of Turbulence in the Development of Body Shape in the African Cichlid Genus Labeotropheus.
Nicholas Santangelo, Hofstra University
– The Neurobiology of Monogamy and Biparental Care in Convict Cichlid Fish.
2015
Layla, Al-Shaer, Lehigh University– Social and Environmental Influences on Convict Cichlid (Amatitlania siquia) Offspring Development and Behavior in the Crater Lakes of Nicaragua.
Richard Oldham, Ohio State University
– Consistent Individual Differences in Boldness of an African Cichlid Fish.
2016
Viviana Astudillo-Clavijo, University of Toronto– Ecomorphological Evolution of Riverine Cichlids.
Sam Borstein, University of Tennessee
– Does Parental Care Strategy Constrain Diversification and Functional Performance in Cichlids?
Timothy Paciorek, Lehigh University
– The Effects of Conflict on Pair Bonds and Parental Care Behaviors in Convict Cichlids.
Sarah Steele, University of Toronto
– The Role of Ontogeny and Body Size Evolution in Diversification of Neotropical Cichlid Fishes.
2017
Alexandra (Sasha) Watkins, California State University– Genetic diversity and population structure of Cryptoheros septemfasciatus.
Tiffany Atkinson, Ohio State University
– Testing the role of turbidity and diet on the reproductive traits of an African cichlid.
2018
No Applicants.2019
Oliver Lucanus, Dr. Margaret Kalacska, Dr. Pablo Arroyo, & Dr. Leandro Sousa, McGill University– Habitat loss of the endemic Cichlids of Bocas del Torro Province, Panama.
Tom Morgan, University of Michigan
– The Phylogeography of Cichlids in Guyana.
Miranda Yourick, University of Maryland
– Characterization of a putative mutation responsible for color vision variation in African cichlids.
2020
Dr Natalie Van Breukelen, Goucher College– Examining Parental Defense and Offspring behavior in the Bi-Parental Convict Cichlid.
2021
Kiedon Bryant, Georgia State University– Cortisol Synchronization Leads to Increased Reproductive Success in Convict Cichlids.
2022
No Applicants.2023
No Applicants at time of convention – fall applicants will be considered in 2024..
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