It is well known that the Amazon rainforests are amongst the most biodiverse places on the planet. However, much of this biodiversity remains completely unknown having never been formally described and with absolutely no knowledge of the ecological and other conditions required for its survival. This profound lack of scientific knowledge arises from what is called the Taxonomic Impediment - there simply are too few taxonomists (people who can identify and describe living things) to get to grips with the magnitude of biodiversity. The Taxonomic Impediment is a world-wide problem as taxonomists themselves have become endangered species and few, if any, countries now devote sufficient resources to biodiversity research. There are many unfortunate knock-ons from this fact; for example designing rational conservation strategies is difficult without knowledge of the animals and plants that live in an area and some knowledge of why. It is only taxonomists who can deliver this knowledge.

In the Brazilian Amazon the situation is improving with a major research institute Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA) now conducting extensive taxonomic research and training a new generation of taxonomists to lead in future biodiversity studies. One such trainee is Josenir Camara, a PhD student at INPA now spending 6 months as an intern at Amgueddfa Cymru under the tutelage of Dr Adrian Plant (Principal Curator, Entomology). Josenir’s research is describing the diversity of a group of aquatic flies (Hemerodromiinae). She has already discovered more than 50 new species, and using sophisticated cladistic techniques to understand more of their evolutionary relationships with related forms elsewhere in the world. The Museum’s extensive collections and taxonomic skills will be an invaluable aid to develop her research and the expertise and experience she develops will be lasting benefits she will take home to Brazil. A small but positive contribution to removing the Taxonomic Impediment in her own country.

Mae project ‘Bylbiau'r Gwanwyn i Ysgolion’ yn gyfle i filoedd o wyddonwyr ysgol weithio gydag Amgueddfa Cymru i archwilio newid yn yr hinsawdd a'i ddeall.

Ers mis Hydref 2005, mae gwyddonwyr ysgol  wedi bod yn cadw cofnod o'r tywydd a phryd mae eu blodau'n agor, fel rhan o astudiaeth hirdymor o effeithiau'r tymheredd ar fylbiau'r gwanwyn.

Mae tystysgrifau wedi cael eu hanfon at yr holl ddisgyblion yn 4,075 a gwblhaodd y prosiect eleni.

Mae rhagor o fanylion yn adroddiadau Athro'r Ardd neu gallwch chi lawrlwytho'r daenlen i astudio'r patrymau!

• Gwnewch siartiau amlder a graffiau i ganfod y cymedrau.
• A wnaeth blodau agor yn hwyr mewn ysgolion oedd yn cofnodi tywydd oer?
• Sut wnaeth tymheredd, heulwen a glaw effeithio ar ddyddiadau blodeuo ar gyfartaledd?
• Chwiliwch am dueddiadau mewn gwahanol lefydd yng Nghymru.

Diolch yn fawr

Athro'r Ardd

www.museumwales.ac.uk/scan/bylbiau

Twitter http://twitter.com/Professor_Plant

Brazilian PhD student Josenir Camara is working with Dr Adrian Plant, Principal Curator of Entomology at Amgueddfa Cymru, on a three-year project to describe some of the diversity of Diptera (flies) inhabiting the rainforest of Brazil’s Amazon Basin. The two researchers have already made numerous collecting expeditions to remote parts of the Amazon, but now they are both back in Cardiff where Josenir will spend the next six months studying at the Museum. As a part of her research she will describe all the Amazonian species of a group of water-inhabiting flies known as Hemerodromia. She already has more than 50 species that are completely new to science and once these have been formally described, the next task is to construct an evolutionary tree showing how the Amazonian Hemerodromia have diversified in respect to Hemerodromia elsewhere in the world. This is where Amgueddfa Cymru comes in as our extensive collections will provide her with an invaluable resource she can use to compare how Amazonian species differ from others. By careful comparison of ‘characters’ of each species and using sophisticated computing methods, Josenir will construct a ‘phylogenetic tree’ to illustrate the sequence of evolutionary changes that have occurred. By comparing the evolutionary tree with the fossil record, geological and climatic history it is hoped that we start to learn more about the biogeography of the Amazon (biogeography is the study of how species and communities or organisms become distributed both geographically and through geologic time).

Do you want to know what happened after washing one of the lithograph prints??

So here you are, the before and after washing treatment where you can see that the foxing spots have disappeared completely over the paper surface.

As we said before, the foxing reddish-brown spots can appear in the paper surface due to different causes. For example, the print has been exposed to relative humidity and temperature fluctuations for a long period of time creating an environment for the growing of mould or another possibility, could be that during the paper making process were used raw materials infested with mould.

These micro-organisms can remain latent for months or years awaiting for the appropriate conditions for growth and there are a wide range of colour stains. In some of the lithograph prints we found basically small yellow spots in different areas of the paper surface.

Wythnos diwethaf, fel rhan o Ddiwrnod Budd a Roi 2014, daeth 50 o wirfoddolwyr o Lloyds Banking Group i Sain Ffagan i helpu gyda nifer o brosiectau. Wnaeth rai helpu’r Adran Garddio, wnaeth rai ymuno a’r Adran Adeiladau Hanesyddol tra gwnaeth rai gweithio ynghyd a’r Gymdeithas Alzheimer. Wnaeth 11 o’r gwirfoddolwyr gweithio gyda fi a Bernice i adeiladu gwrych newydd yn y goedwig wrth ymyl y guddfan adar.

Da ni di bod yn bwriadu adeiladu gwrych wrth ymyl y guddfan adar am sbel, am nifer o resymau. Yn gyntaf, bysai’r gwrych yn actio fel sgrin wrth nesai’r guddfan, gyda’r gobaith bysai’r adar ddim yn cael ei ofni gan ymwelwyr yn cerdded ar hyd y llwybr. Ma’ wrych hefyd yn gallu gweithio fel coridor wrth i fywyd gwyllt symud drwy’r goedwig. Hefyd, mae nifer o ymwelwyr wedi bod yn creu llwybr wrth dorri drwy’r goedwig, ac felly, wrth adeiladu gwrych, da ni’n gobeithio nawr bydd llai o ymwelwyr yn gwneud hyn.

Tasg cyna’r dydd oedd minio’r pyst. Mae’r pyst yn bwysig er mhoen neud yn siŵr bod y gwrych yn cael ei adeiladu ar sylfaen solet. Mae creu min yn neud e’n haws i yrru’r pyst mewn i’r ddaear. Ar ôl creu tyllau arwain, defnyddiwyd morthwyl  mawr i yrru’r pyst i lawr. Unwaith roedd y pyst yn ei le, roedd hi’n bosib i ni ddechrau adeiladu’r gwrych.

Ma’ na nifer o wahanol fathau o wrych, a phenderfynon ni ddefnyddio pren a choed wedi marw. Dros yr wythnosau diwethaf, dwi di fod yn gofyn i’r adrannau garddio ag amaethyddiaeth i gasglu unrhyw bren ac yn y blaen a’i anfon draw i’r guddfan adar. Am fod angen cymaint o bren, es i a rai o’r gwirfoddolwyr mewn i’r goedwig i gasglu hyd yn oed mwy.

Ar ôl cinio, fel grŵp, aethon ni i fyny i Fryn Eryr, safle’r ffarm Oes Haearn newydd sy’n cael ei adeiladu. Mae’r goedwig yma wedi cael ei chlirio yn ddiweddar, felly llanwyd trailer yn barod i’w cludo i’r guddfan. Erbyn diwedd y prynhawn, llwyddon ni i orffen y gwrychoedd. Gorffennwyd y gwrychoedd efo toriadau palalwyf er mwyn ychwanegu bach o je ne sais quois.

Fel mae’r lluniau yma’n dangos, mi oedd y diwrnod yn llwyddiant enfawr! Gallwn ni ddim di gofyn am dywydd gwell a dwi’n meddwl gwnaeth pawb mwynhau’r profiad. Gorffennwyd y 2 darn o wrych oeddem ni am adeiladu, a dwi eisoes wedi meddwl am brosiectau am y dyfodol! Cyflawnwyd llwyth o waith mewn un diwrnod, bysai’r gwaith di cymryd amser maeth i mi a Bernice i orffen heb help y gwirfoddolwyr. Diolch yn fawr iawn i bawb wnaeth helpu ni a’r prosiectau arall hefyd!