: Hanes Naturiol

Croeso Bryn, ein sbesimen hanes natur diweddaraf.

Bryn y Teigr Swmatraidd

Teigr Swmatraidd yw Bryn. Treuliodd ei fywyd yn Sw Mynydd Cymru ym Mae Colwyn fel un o’r trigolion mwyaf eiconig. Yn ystod ei fywyd, rhoddodd bleser mawr i ymwelwyr y sw, gan helpu i godi proffil cyflwr y rhywogaeth hon sydd mewn perygl difrifol. Roedd ganddo bersonoliaeth hamddenol a hoffus ac roedd yn rhan allweddol o’r profiadau ‘Ciper am Ddiwrnod’ a ‘Cyfarfod Anifail’ yn Sw Mynydd Cymru. Bu farw o achosion naturiol ym mis Awst 2016, yn 17 oed. Wrth sefyll ar ei bwys, cewch deimlad go iawn o harddwch a phŵer yr anifeiliaid anhygoel hyn.

Dim ond ar ynys Swmatra yn Indonesia y mae Teigrod Swmatraidd yn byw ac mae ymdrechion cadwraeth sylweddol ar waith ledled y byd. Mae eu niferoedd wedi gostwng yn ddramatig yn ystod y blynyddoedd diwethaf er gwaethaf yr ymdrechion hyn, ac amcangyfrifir bod llai na 400 o deigrod ar ôl yn eu cynefin. Mae colli cynefinoedd, masnach anghyfreithlon a diffyg bwyd i gyd wedi cyfrannu at y gostyngiad hwn. Mae’r teigrod yn byw mewn amrywiaeth eang o goedwigoedd – o iseldiroedd arfordirol i fynyddoedd – ac mae’n well ganddyn nhw goedwigoedd tawel sydd heb eu haredig gydag isdyfiant dwys a llethrau serth. Mae miliynau o erwau o’r coedwigoedd hyn yn cael eu torri bob blwyddyn i wneud lle i’r planhigfeydd cnydau dwys fel olew palmwydd ac acasia. Mae hyn yn golygu bod llai o ysglyfaeth iddyn nhw eu hel, a bod poblogaeth teigrod bellach yn dameidiog, gan beryglu’r broses o adfer y rhywogaethau. Mae masnachu darnau o deigrod yn anghyfreithlon yn dal i fod yn gyffredin er gwaethaf diogelwch cenedlaethol a rhyngwladol llawn, ac mae darnau o deigrod dal ar werth yn agored ar yr ynys.

Felly pam cael Teigr Swmatraidd mewn amgueddfa yng Nghymru? Pam cael anifeiliaid wedi’u stwffio o gwbl? Mae hyn yn gwestiwn sy’n cael ei ofyn yn aml yn yr Amgueddfa. Yn gyntaf, mae amgueddfeydd yn chwarae rhan bwysig fel stordai ar gyfer bioamrywiaeth, drwy roi cofnod o rywogaethau ar gof a chadw. Er enghraifft, mae gennym anifeiliaid diflanedig fel y Thylacine (Blaidd o Tasmania) a’r Carfil Mawr, a sgerbwd Dodo hyd yn oed, yn ein casgliadau. Gyda niferoedd teigrod Swmatraidd mor isel, mae’n bwysicach nawr nag erioed ein bod yn cadw cofnod o’r rhywogaeth hon.

Yn ail, mae creaduriaid eiconig yn rhan bwysig o gasgliadau amgueddfeydd. Mae fertebriaid yn cael llawer mwy o sylw cyhoeddus nag unrhyw grŵp arall o anifeiliaid neu blanhigion. Yn aml iawn, maen nhw’n ddel ac yn apelgar, ac felly’n dod yn symbolau ymgyrchoedd i godi ymwybyddiaeth y cyhoedd o faterion cadwraeth. Gall y creaduriaid hyn gael eu defnyddio i hoelio sylw’r cyhoedd ac i siarad am amrywiaeth eang o faterion sy’n effeithio ar fywyd gwyllt ledled y byd. Fel lleoliad di-dâl, rydym mewn lle da i ymgysylltu pobl gyda’r byd o’u cwmpas. Yn aml iawn, amgueddfeydd yw un o’r llefydd cyntaf y mae pobl yn cael golwg agos ar fywyd gwyllt. Mae hyn yn ein rhoi mewn sefyllfa wych i siarad am y bygythiad i fywyd gwyllt, nid yn unig dramor ond ar garreg y drws. Cofiwch, nid anifeiliaid egsotig mewn llefydd pellennig yn unig sydd mewn perygl. Yr anifeiliaid ‘rhwysgfawr’ hyn yw’r ‘fynedfa’ i anifeiliaid llai rhodresgar ond sydd eto’n wynebu’r un perygl, megis Cragen Las Berlog, Britheg Frown neu Ddafad-Frathwr. Boed yn deigr o Swmatra neu’n durtur o’r DU – yr un yw’r neges. Rydym am i’n hymwelwyr fod yn fwy ymwybodol o’r byd naturiol o’u cwmpas a rhoi’r pŵer iddyn nhw gymryd rhan fwy actif wrth ei fwynhau a’i warchod.

Bryn fydd canolbwynt ein Diwrnod Teigr Cenedlaethol, 29 Gorffennaf 2017, felly bydd cyfle i chi ddod i weld y creadur enigmatig hwn gyda’ch llygaid eich hun. Dewch â’ch teuluoedd a chymerwch ran mewn gweithgareddau, dysgwch fwy am beth mae amgueddfeydd yn eu gwneud gyda’u casgliadau a beth allwch chi ei wneud i ddiogelu teigrod fel Bryn.

Gallwch chi ddysgu mwy am Deigrod Swmatraidd a’r gwaith o’u gwarchod ar wefan y WWF.

Gallwch chi ddysgu mwy am warchod bywyd gwyllt Prydain ar wefan yr Ymddiriedolaeth Bywyd Gwyllt, a gwefan yr RSPB.

Gallwch chi ddysgu mwy am y casgliadau o anifeiliaid asgwrn cefn ar wefan Amgueddfa Cymru.

Working on the collections in the Natural Sciences Department of the National Museum Wales can be both enlightening and complex. Visiting from Bangor University for a week in Cardiff, we were involved with work in the invertebrate biodiversity section, in particular with bivalves and polychaetes. We were very privileged to gain lots of laboratory skills during this process and undertook a huge variety of tasks!

Worm hunting

We were got down to business with sorting a benthic survey sample from 2013 into Polychaeta, Mollusca, Crustacea and Echinodermata by investigating samples under the microscope. To our amazement, we found a big diversity of species just within the samples we looked through, finding everything from bristle worms to isopods! Later in the week we also took on the challenge of trying to identify the polychaete species we found, with some kind help from Teresa. Whilst it was challenging at first, we all became much better by the end and even managed to identify some just by their tails! Teresa also kindly showed us how polychaetes are photographed for publication and identification guides, which was very interesting – it takes a lot of patience and is quite fiddly but the final results are incredible!

Another aspect of the laboratory work included sorting some live polychaete samples brought in by Andy from a recent survey. This included smashing up some of the rocks to get to all the invertebrates hiding inside, a bit like cracking an Easter egg open! One of the most stunning specimens we found was of a Serpulidae worm, which at first was curled up with just the operculum visible, but after waiting patiently it uncurled into a beautiful fan-like structure!

 

Molluscs

Our work with bivalves began by sorting a collection donated by CCW - Countryside Council for Wales (now Natural Resources Wales) - originally collected by Bangor University back in the 50’s, and inputting the collection details onto the museum's digital database. However, obstacles were met along the way: some sections contained more than one label indicating that more than one species were in the same container, as well as the same species all from different places! But Anna kindly trained us up so we were able to organise shells into the correct species groups and off we went!  We sorted some beautiful shells, including razor clams! For some specimens, a light microscope was needed in order to see the most important features for identification. By using the British Bivalves online database, created by museum staff, we were able to ensure that the names of the shells were up to date.

While there we had an explore around the collection and came across some stunning shells, including a huge Triton shell, which is from a species of sea snail that preys on Crown-of-Thorns starfish! The mollusc collection at the museum contains lots of other shell bearing creatures such as limpets and snail-like shells, as well as books on molluscs dating all the way back to the 17th century that contain a wealth of knowledge, and are stored in a glass bookcase to protect them from the environment.

While the hands-on science occupied the majority of our time at the museum, we also got to explore the treasure trove of wonderful collections that is the Natural Sciences Department of the National Museum Wales. We started off with a behind the scenes tour of a variety of collections, from some containing thousands of shells to others with all the bee species in Britain! We can definitely say we never knew there were so many different species! We slowly explored a snippet of the wonders the museum holds, and the knowledge available from the specimens kept there and the staff who care for them (our 11 o’clock coffee breaks were a great time to discuss the ins and outs of curating a collection with museum staff, from seaweed – which you can press just like a flower! - to penguins and of course, worms!).

 

 

3D printing

Our adventures behind the scenes didn’t stop there! While working on the collections we were lucky enough to have a go at 3D printing, which is a mesmerising process to behold. In addition to the printing we witnessed how the fantastic images you see on display in the museum gallery and within books and papers from the staff are created. A fine art of patience and care creates beautiful imagery of amazing detail. Our time at the museum was spent just prior to Christmas allowing us to join the wonderful museum carol service, which was held in the main hall and made up of members of the museum staff, all with amazing voices. As for Cardiff, it was our first time in this vibrant city for all three of us; the foods in Cardiff market are amazing and some of the restaurants are a must go – and of course ice skating in front of the beautiful collection of buildings, one of which is the museum (we didn’t fall over either)! 

 

The week we spent with the museum has given us an insight into how the amazing collections on display are put together, as well as gaining some hands-on science experience, and we will hopefully return again soon!

Rydym ni wrth ein bodd bod USA Today wedi nodi bod 'Mwydod! Y Da, y drwg ac yr hyll' yn un o'r 'arddangosfeydd gorau yn Ewrop y gaeaf hwn', felly dyma weld beth yw barn ein hymwelwyr am y sioe:

@wpduk #wpd 1st week in Wales. No school placement yet so went to @Museum_Cardiff. Loved the worm exhibition! pic.twitter.com/wFpo2kt7po

— Olwen Ringrose (@olwenringrose) November 17, 2016

@wpduk enjoyed the Wriggle exhibition today. Love an opportunity to dress up #wpd pic.twitter.com/XwM2wwkXLb

— Rhoss Adams (@therealrhoss) October 30, 2016

@Museum_Cardiff @wpduk we enjoyed learning about the worms in the wriggle exhibition #wpd pic.twitter.com/hdvz2pr27l

— Rhian Jenkins (@rhirog) November 17, 2016

Mae Mwydod! yn arddangosfa i bob aelod o'r teulu, a cewch ymweld â'r sioe am ddim yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd. Mae digon o gyfleoedd o wisgo lan, i archwilio a mwynhau - yn ogystal â gweld llwyth o fwydod rhyfeddol.

Mae croeso cynnes i chi ymweld â Mwydod - am ragor o wybodaeth, ewch i'n tudalen ddigwyddiadau. Fe welwn ni chi'n fuan!

Towards the end of last year, staff members from the Amgueddfa Cymru took part in a research ‘Roadshow event’ held at Swansea University.   The event gave a chance to meet academics with shared research interests and discuss potential collaborations between our two institutions, and already the event seems to have nurtured some promising links.

At the event Teresa Darbyshire, our Senior Marine Invertebrate Curator, made contact with Dr. Rich Johnston who is co-director of Swansea University's brand new Advanced Imaging of Materials Centre (AIM), a £9M EPSRC/Welsh Government funded integrated scientific imaging facility for Wales. Following this contact, the opportunity arose for myself, Teresa and Dr. Jana Horak (Head of Mineralogy & Petrology) to visit the centre and see the facilities first hand.

To say we were a little overwhelmed by the centre would be quite an understatement. The centre offers state-of-the-art advanced imaging facilities including including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Ion beam nanofabrication, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and micro and nano X-ray computed tomography (microCT). Not to mention a full suite of optical imaging and teaching microscopes.

AIM is primarily focused towards engineering and material science, and you may be wondering why they would be keen to collaborate with the Natural Sciences department here at the Museum. Well, part of their research is looking at the structures of biomaterials to learn how naturally occurring materials are formed, and with over 3 million specimens in our Natural Science collections we offer a huge reference library of material, along with the specialist knowledge of our curatorial staff, right on their doorstep. In return, we can benefit from access to their facilities to help us investigate our collections further for our own research and outreach needs, perhaps helping us to discover new species or identify historic conservation work that may have been undertaken on our specimens.

In fact, we are already utilising their MicroCT scanner to digitise a Whelk shell in order to produce a 3D printed replica in transparent material so that we may see how hermit crabs and a species of marine worm co-habit in these shells.  As you can see below, we’ve already digitally scanned the external of the shell here at the museum, but AIM’s MicroCT Scanner will enable us capture all the internal structures as well. We'll post the results when we get the scan back.

 

Whilst there, we also had the chance to visit the Virtual Reality (VR) lab to see how digital models produced by microCT or our own 3D scanning facilities could be developed for outreach and learning in a virtual environment. We had the chance to "visit" a virtual museum and see digitised objects in this environment. Although a little disconcerting to start with, once we got familiar with the VR world it really did offer a unique way to visualise objects that otherwise may not be possible. In the future, this technology really could open up new ways for the public engage with our collections.

 

I have been specialising in a group of marine bristleworms called magelonids for the last 17 years. Magelonids are known as shovelhead worms due to their distinctive spade-like heads that they use to dig in the soft sediments in which they live. Shovelhead worms have a world-wide distribution, generally living in shallow waters, although a few deep water species are known. I study the taxonomy of the group - a branch of science concerned with the classification of all living things, involving describing species, some which may be new to science. Principally I have worked on specimens from Europe, the Indian Ocean and the seas surrounding the Arabian Peninsula. However, more recently I have also been studying the behaviour of this fascinating group, investigating how they feed, burrow and move etc.

I was invited to colloborate with the University Museum of Bergen (UMB), Norway back in 2013 to work on shovelhead worms from Western Africa. The project, The Marine Invertebrates of Western Africa aims to investigate seabed samples from the West African continental shelf from Morocco to Angola. Very little is known about the shovelhead worms of this region, with only three species currently described, all from South Africa. Therefore I visited the lab at UMB to work with the team back in 2015 on MIWA material. The results from that trip were very exciting and approximately 20 different species of shovelhead worms were found in the material, many of which were likely to be new to science. Whilst work on these specimens carried on back at National Museum Cardiff, it was felt that it would be beneficial to re-vist Bergen to carry on the colloborative work. So consequently UMB invited me back to work with them once more this January. So for the last two weeks I have been studying more material from the region in order to find specimens for DNA analysis. DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) is found inside every cell of every living thing and is different in every individual. We can use DNA analysis to see the difference between very similar looking animals and thus we can see whether animals belong to the same or different species. We can then compare this information to what the species looks like (morphology). We have now selected 74 specimens which will be sent off for DNA sequencing and hopefully the results from that will come back shortly.

In the mean time work will begin on drawing, describing and imagining all the shovelhead worms from Western Africa. It is likely that there will be many new species within these samples, so we will need to decide on names for all of them and these will then be published in scientific papers. Once published this information will be used for example, by people monitoring the health of the seabed within this region.

To read more about the work on MIWA shovelhead worms click here