This issue is dedicated solely to an article by Dr Ro Lowe-McConnell, reviewing recent research on the East African Great Lakes. These beautiful lakes are well known for their fisheries, of vital importance for their rapidly rising riparian human populations, and as biodiversity hotspots with spectacular endemic faunas. The flocks of cichlid fishes unique to each of the three largest lakes - Tanganyika, Malawi and Victoria - offer unique opportunities to investigate how new species evolve and coexist.