Author Archives: caribiologist

After two years, I found my way back to our research place at the Southern end of Lake Tanganyika. This time I am here to conduct a follow-up project together with our Master student Chantal. In the next post, I will tell a bit more about this project but first of all I would likeContinue reading “The power of together”

Working in the laboratory, analysing data with complicated software or writing a publication is mostly done in peace and silence, in other words: in isolation (except for frequent coffee breaks with other fellow freaks). However, there are some moments in my life as a biologist, during which I enter the stage and face the public,Continue reading “Stage fright and communicating science”

My work would be so much easier if I was able to talk to my fish: “On a scale from 0 to 10, how curious would you consider yourself?”. “What do you like in a guy?”. When I was little, the other children dreamt of super powers like flying, being invisible or incredibly strong. IContinue reading “Talk to me”

The only aspect I like about cleaning my apartment (or my car!) is to see an immediate effect of the energy I’ve just invested. In Science, we often invest all our heart, our brain (many organs involved actually)…all our energy for years before we see first results. Sometimes science feels simply like the art ofContinue reading “The art of perseverance”

Diving and catching fish was a core part of my postdoctoral project. Over 800 fish belonging to almost 60 different species were caught over the course of the past two years in Lake Tanganyika. This ambitious mission was only possible with the amazing help of several great and super experienced Zambian divers. Today, I wasContinue reading “Deadly depth: RIP my dearest Nageti”

Africa was not on top of my list. I dreamt of visiting Australia, New Zealand, India and Iceland. I didn’t have any connection to Africa at all…until my postdoctoral project brought me there and I immediately fell in love with Zambia. Today is a special day for the country I consider my second home: 56Continue reading “Independent…what next?”

Field work is team work. Biologists are dependent on helping hands when it comes to data sampling in the wild. When my field work was rather short (1-3 weeks), I always found some volunteers amongst my colleagues or students. But who is willing to help for 8 weeks in a row or longer? Tons ofContinue reading “What it takes to be a field assistant”

Very rarely have I seen a Zambian person run. I run around all the time. Time efficiency is important in our Western life. In Africa, time is not a dictator. Time is always there. It’s the only thing all people got plenty of. “Panoono panoono”, they often tell me. Slowly. Take your time. The ferryContinue reading “Panoono panoono”

When I wrote down the species list of fish that I wanted to test for my project, I was in an optimistic mood. I wrote down species that are rare, hard to catch and very difficult to bring up from the deep without decompression sickness. “Very unlikely”, I thought but not impossible. The only thingContinue reading “Sampling completed”

One of the most exciting things of travelling is meeting new people. This post is about the toughest Frenchman I’ve ever met. During my stay at the camp side of Ndole Bay, I met Pierre from France who is 74 years old and travels whole Africa in his four by four. We instantly became friendsContinue reading “Tough french cookie”