Here is the last in this series of blogs from the Falkland Islands, for now. An account of the trip by husband Brendan:

A non-biologist’s perspective on fieldwork and worm hunting

I remember having a conversation with my careers advisor when I was 16 about my A-Level choices, at the time I was really interested in Sharks and wanted to be a Marine Biologist. My ‘careers advisor’ then cheerfully informed me that to achieve this goal I would need to continue my Chemistry studies, at which point my heart sank and my visions of playing with Great Whites became distant fantasies.  

My interest in the underwater world never really left me but I also never really got to understand what being a Marine Biologist would actually entail.  This trip in many ways has been an eye opener as it has provided me with an insight into what it is actually like to pursue Marine Biology and the level of dedication required.

My first lesson in advanced rock pooling began at a place called Rincon Grande in the north of the Falkland Islands.  The excitement I felt as I started picking my way through the pools and looking under rocks and actually being more successful than Teresa in finding a range of worms, including my first scale worm quickly led to stoic perseverance as I then went on to find a succession of ragworms for what felt like hours.  There was at least one stage when I wished we were looking for starfish as these seemed to be everywhere but were apparently not of interest.

One of the key things that Teresa was trying to do was identify the diversity of worms in any location and that meant trying to find as much as possible and ideally a sample of more than one of each.  In many of the locations we went to, this meant spending 2 or 3 hours persistently combing the rocks and digging through what sediment there was to try and find as much as possible in the short window the tides provided us with (photo 1).  This tried both of our patience on several occasions as travel in the Falklands over what is considered roads, which we would consider simply a pot holed gravel drive, means that you arrive feeling battered and bruised before you then spend a couple of hours crouched on a beach in weather that seemed to vary from one extreme to another hunting an, at times, elusive prey.

Whilst collecting on a beach where you can stand on something solid whilst holding a piece of rock in one hand and using the forceps in your other hand to pick off a worm that might be only a few millimeters long is challenging. Trying to do this underwater, whilst you have one hand on the rock to try and steady yourself against the rolling ground swell that is trying to alternately tangle you in the kelp or pound you against the rock that you are trying to prize a sample off with the dive knife that you are holding in your other hand is a different matter altogether (photos 2 & 3)! The really challenging thing was that after you had managed to prize the sample off the rock you need to get it into a plastic sample bag (ziplock freezer bag) without losing everything – apparently I failed in this respect. Whilst I can’t hide the fact that the trowel and the all important brass snap lock (yes she has mentioned it more than once) did get left behind my argument is still that the sample was more important and that was recovered! I also never realised just how difficult it could be to open, put something into and then reseal a zip lock bag whilst wearing neoprene gloves that are 5mm thick!

Whilst the beach sampling and the diving both presented challenges the rewards do come when you get to view your catch down the microscope. What on the beach looks like a small orange blob is transformed into an elegant looking worm with a flowing mane of orange hair (a cirratulid – photo 4).  If you’re really lucky you get rewarded with a scale worm, resplendent in its glistening armour (photo 5), if you’re unlucky, well it’s just another ragworm…..

All in all whilst ‘rock pooling for adults’ may not be entirely accurate, I have to admire the persistence and knowledge required to do what I dreamed of doing as a young man in Leeds.

Helo Gyfeillion y Gwanwyn,

Diolch i bawb wnaeth yrru data tywydd ata i'r wythnos ddiwethaf. Yn enwedig y rhai ohonoch wnaeth yrru jôcs – daliwch ati, mae nhw’n gwneud i mi chwerthin!

Roedd rhai o sylwadau’r wythnos yma yn dweud bod y tymheredd yn codi a’r dyddiau’n mynd yn hirach, sy’n esgus perffaith i mi siarad rhywfaint am y tymhorau!

Mae yna bedwar tymor mewn blwyddyn: gaeaf, gwanwyn, haf a hydref. Mae hi’n dal yn aeaf ar hyn o bryd, y tymor oeraf.

Mae’r gwanwyn yn dechrau o gwmpas Mawrth yr 20fed (Cyhydnos y Gwanwyn) a dyma’r tymor lle bydd y rhan fwyaf o blanhigion yn blodeuo ac anifeiliaid bach yn cael eu geni wrth i’r tywydd gynhesu. Mae ŵyn bach yn y caeau yn arwydd da bod y gwanwyn wedi cyrraedd!

O fis Mehefin tan fis Medi bydd hi’n haf – y dyddiau’n hir a’r tywydd yn gynnes. Yn lwcus i chi, byddwch yn cael gwyliau hir o’r ysgol!

Bydd yr hydref yn gafael o ddiwedd Medi ymlaen – y dyddiau yn byrhau, y tywydd yn oeri, a’r dail yn troi’n oren, coch a brown cyn syrthio o’r coed. Daw’r gaeaf unwaith eto ym mis Rhagfyr a bydd yn aros efo ni tan ganol Mawrth.

Ydych chi’n gwybod pam ein bod yn cael tymhorau? Beth sy’n achosi i’r tywydd newid mor ddramatig yn ystod y flwyddyn? Mae’n digwydd achos bod y Ddaear yn troi o amgylch yr Haul ar ongl. Mae’r llun isod yn dangos y Ddaear a’r Haul. Mae’r Ddaear yn cylchdroi ar echel (dychmygwch linell yn cysylltu Pegwn y Gogledd â Phegwn y De) wrth symud o amgylch yr Haul.

Mae’n cymryd 365 diwrnod i’r Ddaear deithio unwaith o amgylch yr Haul. Hyd blwyddyn ar blaned yw’r amser mae’n gymryd i deithio o amgylch ei seren unwaith. Felly mae blwyddyn ar y Ddaear yn para 365 diwrnod.

Y Tymhorau (gan wefan BBC Bitesize)

Mae’r llun uchod yn dangos llwybr y Ddaear o amgylch yr Haul. Yr echel yw’r llinell goch trwy’r ddau begwn. Mae’r echel ar ongl wahanol i lwybr y Ddaear o amgylch yr Haul (y llinell wen doredig). Mae hyn yn golygu ein bod ar ongl fymryn yn wahanol i’r Haul bob dydd. Dyma sy’n achosi’r newid yn hyd y dydd. Mae dyddiau byrrach (gaeaf) yn golygu llai o olau a llai o wres, sy’n gwneud y gaeaf yn oerach. Mae dyddiau hirach (haf) yn golygu mwy o olau a gwres, sy’n ei gwneud yn gynhesach!

Mae’r DU yn ‘Hemisffer y Gogledd’ sy’n golygu ein bod yn nes at Begwn y Gogledd nag at Begwn y De. Yn y llun, mae Pegwn y Gogledd (y llinell goch sy’n pwyntio am i fyny) yn gwyro i gyfeiriad yr Haul ym mis Mehefin ac oddi wrth yr Haul ym mis Rhagfyr. Yr ongl hon sy’n achosi’r newid yn hyd y dyddiau wrth i’r Ddaear droi o amgylch yr Haul.

Mae gwledydd eraill yn profi’r newidiadau hyn ar wahanol adegau. Yn Awstralia mae’n haf ym mis Rhagfyr! Ac yng Ngwlad yr Iâ mae’n olau dydd am ddyddiau ar y tro yn yr haf, ac yn dywyll am ddyddiau yn y gaeaf... dychmygwch yr Haul yn tywynnu am hanner nos!

Daliwch ati Gyfeillion y Gwanwyn,

Athro’r Ardd

Before Christmas, I posted a blog about our First World War collections. If you’ve had a chance to browse our new online catalogue, you’ll know that we have a number of campaign medals and memorial plaques in the collection. Recently, we accepted a donation from the family of Private Alfred Prosser Workman – a coal miner who is commemorated, along with his brother Edward, on the Newbridge War Memorial. Thanks to the generosity of Mrs Gaynor Hoare, we now have Alfred's Victory Medal, British War Medal and memorial plaque in the collection.

Alfred Prosser Workman

Alfred Prosser Workman served with the 11th South Wales Borderers. He married Mrs Hoare’s grandmother, Elsie Mayo, in 1915. After his death in 1916, the young widow went on to marry Mrs Hoare’s grandfather, William Thomas, in 1919. Elsie remained close to Alfred’s family long after he had died. Although not a blood relative, her son called Alfred’s mother ‘Granny Workman’.

Memorial on the move

The Newbridge War Memorial was re-erected here at St Fagans in 1996. Its original location, high on a hill in Caetwmpyn Park, Newbridge, made access an issue for ageing veterans. A new memorial was built in the town centre and the original structure was offered to the Museum. Members of the Newbridge Branch of the Royal British Legion organise an annual service of remembrance at the Museum. It remains, twenty years down the line, their memorial.

Community engagement

The First World War centenary has provided an opportunity for us to re-connect with the people of Newbridge. Across the country, communities of ‘citizen historians’ are coming together to uncover their First World War heritage, and Newbridge is no exception. Supported by Ken Merriott of the Newbridge Branch, Tim and Suzy Bowers have been researching the hidden histories of the 79 men commemorated on Newbridge War Memorial. Take a look at their fantastic website to learn more about the project. Alfred Prosser Workman’s story is featured here.

This research is also accessible at the Museum in the Reading Room of Oakdale Institute. We have condensed the men’s biographies into short profiles which you can browse in the form of replica broadsheet newspapers.

This project is supported by the Armed Forces Community Covenant Grant Scheme.

The New Year has seen a number of interesting objects enter the industry collections.

This teddy bear was manufactured by Wendy Boston (Crickhowell) Ltd. The company was founded in 1941 in Crickhowell (near Abergavenny) by husband and wife Wendy and Ken Williams. They had moved from Birmingham during the Blitz, and Wendy started making toys for friends and family whilst her husband was away. This bear was purchased circa 1963/64 for the donor when he was a baby, and living in Llanelli. It wears a home knitted cardigan, and the donor as a young child had a matching larger version. We also have in the collections a poodle pyjama/nightdress case manufactured by the same company. However, teddy bears were the dominant and by far the best know product and so we are fortunate to have been donated an example with a good Welsh provenance.

My last month’s Blog featured a Lesbians & Gaymen Support the Miners fund badge from 1985. This ‘Pits and Perverts’ t-shirt compliments this, and was manufactured to promote the film ‘Pride’ (it has ‘In Cinemas 12th September’ printed on the back). The film tells the amazing true story of how a group of gay men and women raised funds to help families affected by the miners’ strike.

Towards the end of last year we were donated this First World War memorial plaque. It commemorates men who had worked at Guest Keen & Nettlefold's Rogerstone Steel Works and the adjacent HP Wire Nail Works. The plaque is currently on display, until 15th March 2015, in the exhibition ‘Working for Victory’ at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea (see photograph below).

Finally these two metal plates were recovered from Cardiff Docks in the 1990s. They both come from an early 20th century crane manufactured by John Williams & Sons (Cardiff) Ltd. at Globe Foundry, Cardiff for use in the docks. These are an important pair of makers’ plates, as we only have a small number of plates from Welsh-manufactured machinery. They also complement a set of foundry tools from this company and an electric battery delivery truck used by the company for local deliveries.

Mark Etheridge
Curator: Industry & Transport
Follow us on Twitter - @IndustryACNMW

26-28.01.15

For the last 2 days, we have been out on Sea Lion Island, the southern-most outpost of all of the islands. Once again, we ended up on a flight that landed over an hour after low tide, even though the tide was at 4pm! This was very frustrating but we were straight out as soon as we could, and down on the nearest patch of shoreline to see what we could do. My trusty trowel had been replaced with a coal shovel, the best I could manage at short notice but it would have to do. Although the shore was the kind I knew would be poor for worms (favoured by penguins) we had a go. No luck. At the end of the bay were some rock ledges with a few rock pools with some sand and algae not yet being affected by the rising tide. We suddenly started finding a (very) few worms under the sand in the pools and then I also noticed some small casts as well (see photo 1). This spurred us on to keep looking and at least come away with something (photo 2). We eventually ended up with a small pot that turned out to be slightly more diverse than expected with at least four different species represented (not bad for a fairly bare rock pool and only just over a dozen animals). The most common animal in the pot was an animal known as Boccardia, which is very hardy and often found in the higher shore environments here (photo 3).

The following day dawned windy and wet and the tide was not until nearly 5pm. This gave us plenty of time to peruse the island, see the sights and check out the coastline as the island is only around 5 miles long. I had been here before a few years ago and had already sampled some of the rocky shores on the south side so was more interested in trying to get something from the northern coasts. Shortly after we set off the rain started, although not too heavily. On one of the first shores we visited we found a male sea lion (photo 4), fast asleep. A fantastic sight and one I had not seen before so that improved our mildly damp spirits. By lunchtime, the rain had become persistent and not so light anymore. Our waterproofs were holding out but both pairs of feet were increasingly squelchy. As we turned to follow the north coast back up the island, we found ourselves heading into the wind. Suddenly life felt a little unfair. Most of the shores we had seen were either inaccessible below vertical cliffs, clean boulders in equally clean mobile sand with no life beneath or solid rock ledges, scoured clean by sea and weather. We eventually fought our way back to the bay we had started at the night before, but this time a couple of hours before low tide to find it being pounded by waves. We dug a few holes but there was nothing apparent. After a brief sit down to stare vacantly at the shore while being eyed up by an obviously nesting pair of caracaras who just as obviously didn’t want us there, we decided to head directly across the island to the opposite, sheltered shore and try there instead. We then walked the length of the shore, digging small holes every so often like itinerant squirrels, as the tide slowly ebbed out. Still nothing. We crossed back to the other shore and walked the length of that too, just to say we tried. Salvation came in the form of washed up kelp bladders that were encrusted with the small coiled tubes of spirorbid worms that were still alive (photo 5). We finally allowed ourselves to retire to the lodge, peel off our boots and wring out our socks.

Today was even windier and I have to admit the will and strength to fight my way through it had gone. Our flight back after lunch was short with an even shorter take-off and landing thanks to the wind. Tomorrow I have to pack all of my samples up and make sure they are ready for sending home before doing the same for myself.

Brendan is tasked with the job of finishing off the blog for you, giving a non-biologist’s view of fieldwork and worms and the delights of getting involved with both for the first time. Then it’s an early start on Friday before the long haul home.