Abstract
Since 1979, I have spent many years studying electric fish in wild and remote jungle rivers of Central America, Africa, and the Amazon. It is one of the most fascinating and biologically rich yet dangerous occupations in the world. There is no 24-hour emergency medical care. A snake bite or fall from a tree could be lethal. Regardless, I rarely thought of these negative aspects of my work. Recently, after the death of a close friend who drowned while collecting fish, I began questioning my motives in pursuing such a dangerous lifestyle. I wondered what drove me and my colleagues who work on electric fish to do fieldwork.
In memory of Fonchii Chang
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© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Hagedorn, M. (2004). Essay: The Lure of Field Research on Electric Fish. In: von der Emde, G., Mogdans, J., Kapoor, B.G. (eds) The Senses of Fish. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1060-3_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1060-3_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-3779-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-1060-3
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