Everything is awesome

It's been a busy 10 days out on the Glasgow University Marine and Freshwater Biology field course based on Millport, Isle of Cumbrae! The trip kicked off with a 3 day Environmental Impact Assessment module led by the adorable Peter and Azra Meadows. The task involved working as a group to assess the current ecological status of the sea floor around Hunterston Power Station in light of a (historically accurate but pretend) proposal to build a new coal-fired power station on the site.

Map of our beam trawl transects and sediment grab points

Being 27 students strong, it was admittedly a bit tension-filled trying to make decisions on how we we go about sampling but we got there in the end :) Four sample sites were decided on with a beam trawl and a sediment grab planned for each, with groups going out on the R.V. Actinia to see how it's done. The skippers Duncan and Tom were brilliantly knowledgeable about the area and the sampling techniques and had some great stories to tell.

While one group was out on the boat, everyone else was involved in the processing of the catches and data collection. It was a marine biology conveyor belt with sorting, identifying, counting, sifting, and weighing all going on at once. Of course it isn't all cuddling crabs and stroking starfish (!), we had some serious stats and report writing to do, as well as fit in lectures and briefings on what was coming up the next day - saying we were tired just doesn't cut it!

Our beam trawl haul!

Peter and Azra kindly provided a glut of wine on the Friday night so we all had a chance to cut loose for a time before the report was due in and the zoologist hoarde arrived the next day!

The Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems course kicked into gear on Sunday morning, when we headed out to Farland Point to collect some rocky shore specimens, and Kames Bay in Millport itself to dig for sandy shore beasties. At the rocky shore we took representative species from each zone - the Sublittoral (below the water line), eulittoral (between the kelp of the sublittoral and the furthest reach of the barnacles, and the littoral fringe (above the barnacles to the black lichen). We found a few shore crabs, common mussles, chitons, isopods, amphipods and anemones, as well a lots of different types of alga or seaweed.

At the sandy beach the fauna was dominated by some of my favourites - polychaete worms! The largest among the ones we found were estuary ragworms, which undulate from side to side with the wave of movement coming from the tail to the head. This means their heads are constantly waggling from side to side - they look hilarious.

Nephyts caeca - a polychaete worm

 Monday saw us back out on the Actinia to collect some plankton samples and measure light availability below the surface of the water. On Tuesday we were briefed about a scientific video we had to make, testing our skills in presenting a scientific paper in a fun an engaging way - the results of our efforts were screened on Friday afternoon and I had no voice left from laughing so much. You can watch the masterpiece that is CSI: Millport below, let us know what you think!

We also had a chance to check out our plankton samples under the microscope. Plankton are tiny organisms, and can be photosynthetic plants (phytoplankton) or larval forms of sea life (zooplankton) that are carried by the ocean currents. We found diatoms with surfaces made of sillica, dinoflagellates, tiny polychaete worms and crustacean larvae wriggling around in a tiny drop of sea water, a world within a world.

Gammarid and polychaete worm larvae under the microscope

Squat lobster and a dragonet fish

Wednesday saw us in the lab for some microbiology work on two water samples to see if E. coli and other colliform bacteria would grow on agar plates. Our results were very different from previous years success as we hardly had any colonies growing overnight at all. I must admit that microbiology is probably wasted on me, I like my study subjects to be visible ;) In the afternoon though our groups choose different rockpools and we collected hermit crabs from a .25m quadrat, painting their shells with colourful nailpolish before releasing them back to their pool. We would return the next day to see if they went for a wander to see their neighbours or not. That afternoon we also did a 75 minute study on oyster catchers, watching one bird to see how much time it spent watching for predators and feeding. Thankfully the weather was great if a bit chilly and we were rewarded with a lovely sunset before we headed home for tea. Wednesday was also St Paddy's and after the fieldwork was done we headed to the pub to celebrate - what we didn't expect was the pub running out of Guinness minutes after we arrived!

Looks like I should have used some of the polish myself

On our penultimate day we went to check our rockpools and try to find our painted hermit crab pals. Our group found 2 out of 5 that had been painted and about 15 other unpainted crabs which had moved into the area. The two that we found had moved out of their shells - maybe they didn't like the lavender colour?!  We also conducted a quadrat hurling rocky shore survey where we flung the wire square over our heads and counted how many periwinkles, mussels and limpets were within the boundary. In the evening the tutors held a fun but competitive review quiz, complete with table wine. Our team came joint second with 31.5 points out of 40 which wasn't too shabby!

Friday came after what seemed like months of work, dry ham sandwiches, hangovers, copious cups of tea and no sleep. There was a last minute rush to finish some group videos and then experience the enjoyment of everyone's hard work in a dark and stuffy lecture theater while the moon covered the sun behind the clouds outside. I may have almost lost track of all the things we learned but I had an absolutely fantastic time which I will never forget!

Latest stuff

Taxidermy reprise: here's a lady stoat completed this week, carrying a wee field vole which was found along with the stoat when it was caught (in a legal, lethal spring trap, though not by me).

Teeny vole pelt

If you'd like to see more you can head over to Stuff Stef Stuffs facebook page :)

Build a little worm house in your gut!

I have, in my time kick sampling, come across more than a few amphipods of the Gammarus pulex variety with bright orange patches showing through the side of their body, and have never known what they were - UNTIL NOW!

Gammarus pulex showing infection with Pomphorhynchus laevis.

Through the magic of learning (which is fun by the way) in the form of lectures on parasite biology at university, I am now excited to share that these orangey bits are actually internal parasites! Going by the beautifully unwieldy name Pomphorhynchus laevis, the eggs of these acanthocephalan (spiny headed) worms are eaten by, and make their way into the gut of unsuspecting Gammarids (freshwater shrimp). What is particularly interesting about these parasites is that they can change the behaviour of Gammarus to increase their chances of making their way to their definitive host - a fish.

It has been shown that the bright colouration of the infective stage of Pomphorhynchus laevis is more easily spotted by fish such as trout and three-spined stickleback, the natural predators of Gammarus in streams and rivers. The parasite also changes the normal behaviour of the amphipod, causing it to be less sensitive to light which results in it spending more time in the open, or against light coloured gravel. It may also alter its sense of smell, making it unable to detect the scent of predators and flee. This makes them 'sitting ducks' so that hungry hunting fish can easily gobble them up!

You might think this is bad news for the parasite, when it is actually exactly what it wants as it ends up in the gut of its ultimate host where it is able to reproduce, release eggs which are expelled in the fish's faeces and start the cycle all over again. Some parasite species have extremely complicated life histories, going through many life stages in different forms and enduring exposure to different environments. For me it's a marvel how intimately parasites and their hosts have co-evolved over millions of years: developing adaptations to their host's immune system to avoid detection and death, ensuring that the next generation is spread to where the intermediate host will be, and also in some cases altering their intermediate host's behaviour in order to get where they need to be for the next life stage.

A scary acanthocephalan worm (From http://www.carlsbergfondet.dk/~/media/Images/Forskerartikler/torskens%20spaende%20indre%20liv/lille%20illustration_version%201.ashx)

Of course it can be bad news for the infected fish if it ends up with too many hangers on inside its gut! A heavy load of spiny headed worms can reduce the weight and condition of the fish host and eventually lead to death.

Ahem. Well it's not all doom and gloom, our hook-headed pal has enabled some cool strides to be made in healing wounds. The hooks have inspired a micro needle design which can be used to attach skin grafts which are less damaging and more secure than conventional surgical staples. Also other parasites are being used in trials to treat autoimmune disease such as MS.

Huzzah for parasites!

Oh and tiny bit of self-promotion - you can get my blog posts delivered right to your email by signing up via the box on the top right hand side, and if you like sporadic nature and taxidermy updates and links you can subscribe to my Twitter feed! :)

On Cousteau

I received a series of Jacques Cousteau DVDs for Christmas this year which was an excellent present for a budding marine & freshwater biologist ;)

If you did not already know, Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, conservationist, scientist, filmmaker and researcher who along with Emile Gagnan developed the aqualung (or SCUBA system as it is known today) in the early 1940s. He was also a pioneering marine biologist and traveled the oceans during with his son and crew on the adapted marine biology station ship, Calypso, for the series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau between 1966 and '76. He developed mini submersible exploration vehicles which were launched from Calypso and enabled him to film amazing scenes of life underwater and bring attention to the negative human impact on the oceans.

He also predicted the existence and use of echolocation in porpoises as he observed them finding the optimal course through the Straits of Gibraltar without following a boat. He certainly was a busy monsieur!

Of course marine biology was a bit different back then, and some of the 'techniques' used to study the animal life would definitely be frowned upon today! Here are a couple of examples:

• Trapping tropical fish under plastic domes while their natural predators try to get at them and eat them.
• Prodding a pufferfish until it inflates itself.
• Drilling a hole at the rear of a turtle's carapace (which does not cause the animal any pain) and tying a hydrogen balloon to it to track them.
• Attaching a plastic ball float to a fin whale to track it, combined with divers hanging on to its tail and fin for a bit of a ride before they let it go about its business.
• Securing a tag to a juvenile sperm whale with string around its body.

Monsieur Cousteau riding a turtle, as you do.

Despite the perhaps slightly dubious methods, there are many fantastic insights into the deep sea including a couple of species and behaviours that I hadn't seen on other natural history documentaries (even recent ones) before.

An additional bonus for me was that the series is narrated by Rod Serling of The Twilight Zone fame, which, for those that are too young, is referenced in Futurama's The Scary Door! The series is seriously worth a watch :)

Next up on Mosspig - the first CRIMP survey of 2015!

Oh Canada!

The view from Moresby Floating Camp on Haida Gwaii

To wrap up the loose ends from 2014 I am finally getting around to writing about the wildlife we saw when we visited the west coast of Canada. We toured around Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) and managed to see most of Vancouver Island too. We were incredibly lucky in that we hit most of the big scores in terms of animal spotting. I realise that lists are sometimes dull and boring but I'm sticking them in here anyway!

Birds

• Tufted puffin

  

  Tufted puffin ((Fratercula cirrhata) around Haida Gwaii

• Ancient murrelet
• Pigeon guillemot
• Belted kingfisher
• Loon
• Bald eagle
• Raven
• Chickadee
• Rhinoceros auklet
• Sandhill crane
• Semi-pilated plover
• Turkey vulture
• Blue heron
• Steller's jay

  

  Bald eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus

• Sandpiper
• Shearwater
• Barred owl
• White winged scoter
• Wood duck
• Sap sucker
• American Robin

Yes, we saw a huge variety of birds and spent a great deal of time trying to get half decent photographs of them. Of course the most iconic one is perhaps the bald eagle, of which we saw many as we made our way around both islands. There was one particular creek on Haida Gwaii where we stopped for lunch which was jam packed with adult and juvenile eagles, some flying very closely past us. One of the memorable species was the ancient murrelet, which had a frantic and slightly ineffectual flapping flight using their stubby wings whenever the boat got too near. Haida Gwaii has the largest breeding colony of ancient murrelets in the world don't you know.

One of the birds we had a particularly hard time trying to photograph was Steller's Jay, and on one occasion following one with the camera led us to a very well camoflaged, sleeping, barred owl!

Mammals

• Humpback whale

  

  Pacific White Sided Dolphin - Lagenorhynchus obliquidens

• Sitka black tailed deer
• Haida Gwaii black bear
• Squirrel (various)
• Pacific harbour seal
• Steller sea lion
• Bats
• Killer whale
• Pacific white sided dolphin
• Grizzly bear
• Californian sea lion
• Racoon

We spent a lot of our time in the lead up to going to Canada hoping that we'd see bears and whales, and we were definitely not disappointed! Shortly after we had arrived on Haida Gwaii a black bear lolloped across the road in front of our bus. The grizzly tour that we went on in Campbell River  provided us with spectacular viewings of humpback whales, a pod of killer whales, pods of pacific white sided dolphin and of course the beautiful grizzlies. We managed to see five bears in total on the tour, two female and cub pairs and one lone individual, and all turned up just shortly after we had climbed into the hide!

Grizzly bears - Ursus arctos horribilis

The mother bears looked very lean but were obviously doing well as the cubs were one and two years old respectively. They came so close to where we were watching them but didn't pay much mind. They skirted the icy blue glacier river and one mother even dived in attempting to catch a salmon.

What a amazing unforgettable day that was! When we were nearing the end of our holiday we booked on a whale watching tour in Victoria and were also very lucky to catch a couple of big humpbacks breaching out of the water. There are different theories as to why humpbacks perfom this behaviour ranging from social displays of dominance, playing, dislodging parasites or to stun prey. Humpbacks are mysticete whales meaning they have baleen plates in their mouths instead of teeth which they use to filter feed on small crustaceans and fish. They are generally solitary animals but the males are well known for their haunting and complex songs produced to attract a female during the breeding season.

Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae

Other behaviour we observed while on the inside passage ferry were tail and fin slapping by two different individuals, which was great to see.  Tail slapping, or lobtailing as it is often called, creates a sound that can be heard for several hundred meters underwater, it may be a form of communication or feeding method to encourage frightened fish to school together to make them easier to catch.

Humpback tail fluke patterns and notches can be used to identify individual whales

Fish, amphibians and invertebrates

Sunfish Mola mola

• Sunfish
• Banana slug
• Sculpin
• Purple or Ochre starfish
• Northern kelp crab
• Fried egg jellyfish
• Grasshopper
• Isopods
• Mossy and Black Katy Chitons
• Carabid ground beetles
• Tussock moth caterpillar
• Western red backed salamander
• By-the-wind sailor jellyfish

One of the weirdest things we encountered was a sunfish, a giant meter and a half laterally flattened silvery grey creature with huge oar-like dorsal and anal fins. It is apparently the heaviest bony fish in the world reaching weights of 1000kg. They mainly eat jellyfish and are very slow moving and a result can end up with a lot of hangers-on in the form of parasitic species (and they can be troubled by as many as 40 different ones!), which we observed on ours! Sunfish sometimes come to the surface for a clean, and allow birds to eat parasites from them, at the surface they can also take advantage of the warmer temperature and thermally recharge before they dive.

Mossy chiton Mopalia muscosa

It wouldn't be a Mosspig blog without some mention of inverts so I'd like to highlight the chitons we found on Botanical Beach at Port Renfrew. These are molluscs of the polyplacophora class which have 8 overlapping parts to their shell made of calcium carbonate, which enables them to fit very snugly against intertidal rocks to lock in moisture and avoid becoming dislodged by the waves. Like snails, chitons have rasping tongues called the radula, which are covered in ordered rows of tiny teeth. These are used to scrape algae from rocks on which the chiton feeds. A surprising thing however, is that chiton are the only animals that are able to tip their radular teeth with a compound called magnetite which is the hardest material made by a living organism! There are chitons present on Scottish rocky beaches of course but I have never seen them as big as the ones in BC. There is also a really weird story in Haida culture regarding chitons and their involvement in the creation of man which is worth a read.

Tussock moth caterpillar Lophocampa maculata

Banana slug - Ariolimax columbianus

One of my favourite 'underdog' spottings was the humble banana slug. They are present in North America's Pacific coastal coniferous forests, but the ones we saw in British Columbia are an isolated population. They are very important as they are detrivores, which means they feed on decaying vegetation, animal droppings and fungal fruiting bodies which enables recycling of nutrients and a clean and healthy forest. They are also a tasty snack for some birds and mammals, and I think they are very charismatic!



Of course I can't end a post about British Columbia without mentioning salmon. There are many different species in Canadian waters including Sockeye, Coho, Chum, Pink and Chinook. They all start life in interior rivers, migrating out to sea where they feed and grow, and then return as adults to spawn in their natal river. The return of the salmon is a huge and important event for the bears who after a summer of eating fruits, nuts and scavenging carcasses, can gorge on the glut of salmon biomass in the fall. Bears and other carnivores that hunt the salmon enrich the local ecosystem by transporting nutrient-rich flesh onto the land and into the forests. There valuable phosphorus, carbon, sulphur and nitrogen and be broken down and taken up by plants and trees, as well as being transported downstream to estuaries where it can support a wide variety of invertebrate and birdlife. Mon the salmon!

Sockeye mural in Prince Rupert

In conclusion I thoroughly recommend exploring British Columbia and especially Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island if you ever get the chance, it is a beautiful area bursting with amazing creatures as well as fantastic scenery.

On Taxidermy

Preserved teddies (Shadowmanor.com)

I've been pondering recently why I am drawn to taxidermy and associated animal preservation. Every time I visit a museum with a natural history section I'm excited to see what wonders they have on display. Collection of butterflies and beetles in wooden framed boxes, exotic colourful birds filling glass domes, and prowling predators frozen in time are indeed candy for the eyes!

Alfred Russell Wallace's collection of butterflies in the NHM London

Taxidermy enables us to get up close and personal with animals we might never get a chance to see alive in the wild, and even preserves those that are now sadly extinct. When done well, the art of taxidermy can bring a second life to dead animals, and some imagination and a bit of artistic license can even create new wondrous creatures like unicorns, flying cats, and jackalopes. Even mixed media creatures featuring jewelled or mechanical parts are commonplace these days - check out the work of Jessica Joslin and Brooke Weston for some of my favourites.

'Custard' by Brooke Weston

Vast displays of taxidermy or 'museum skins' (where only the skin is preserved and not stuffed, to enable specimens to be studied and stored in smaller spaces as in museum collections) also allow us to appreciate the massive variety of forms that occur in nature. Many variations of colour and patterning between species can be marveled at, the products of millions of years of evolution. Some of my favourites include the huge tree of hummingbirds at London's natural history museum and also the hummingbird display at Tring NHM. Walking through the massive gallery of even-toed ungulate antelopes at Tring to observe the variety of antlers and horns was a definite highlight for me.

Collection of beetles

Gallery at Tring NHM

Wunderkammer, curiosity cabinets packed with bones, crystals, insects and preserved specimens in jars of formaldehyde, once a macabre Victorian fascination seem to also be back in fashion. When I was little I kept an small old suitcase filled with bits and bobs I had collected (I still have it but most of the things are now displayed proudly around the house!). An antler, feathers, stones with holes through them, things in small bottles and jars, dead butterflies and tiny bird bones all hoarded. It felt magical, making a connection to the past and to nature, having a small trove of treasure unlike anyone else!

A fantastical combination of various animal parts by Enrique Gomez Molina, who got into a bit of bother for illegal trafficking of endangered species, don't do it kids!

A cabinet of curiosities

Trying to make a dead bird seem as if it could take flight at any moment is an art indeed. Through the practise of taxidermy I am learning more than I ever thought I would about animal anatomy and physiology. Although surrounded by photographic references while I work, it is so important to observe the living versions going about their business too. You need to be aware of what a 'natural pose' really is. There is no substitute for studying wildlife in its natural setting.

Can a stoat bend that way? At what angle should the tail of a robin sit?

Stoats, surprisingly bendy.

Every day is a school day.

Textures and colours are a huge draw for me too. Types and patterns of fur and feathers can be appreciated at close hand. I am sure there are some of you out there that think all birds are entirely covered in feathers -  not so! Feathers grow in tracts and there are patches of bare skin called apteria which birds use for cooling. Penguins however are entirely covered in feathers to enable them to inhabit the freezing temperatures of the Antarctic. When you are blasting a soggy crow skin with a hairdryer you definitely get an appreciation for these adaptations!

Red Crested Turaco

Araripe Manakin

Grey crowned crane

Mandarin Duck

Fairy Penguin in Australia, not Antarctica.

Although as a amateur the process of taxidermy can sometimes be very frustrating, the rewards are great. Appreciation, understanding and a lasting memorial which can be enjoyed over many years are my treasures.

Christmas CRIMP

When is the best time to go wading in a river? That's right, WINTER!

 

 

There's more life in here than meets the eye!

The last riverfly survey before Christmas was indeed a very chilly one. The river was a lot higher than usual due to the heavy rains recently but that didn't stop us from catching some cool beasties! I've caught a couple of brown trout parr on the odd occasion like the little guy below, however I've never had a stickleback land in my net, never mind two of them!

Brown Trout parr

Three-spined Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus

Sticklebacks are common in UK rivers and ponds, usually reaching a length between 4-7cm and living for up to 3 years. They are unusual in that they do not have scales on their body like most fish, but instead have bony armour-like plates, as well as the characteristic spiny protrusions on their backs. Sticklebacks are normally schooling fish but during the breeding season in the spring the males become very territorial and develop a red patch under their belly to advertise their dominance over other males and to attract a female. The male also takes on parental care duties, building a nest using bits of weed, chasing rival males away, and ensuring that the eggs are well oxygenated once the female has laid them. Once the eggs have hatched he will capture any fry that try to escape by sucking them into his mouth and depositing them back in the nest. He will do this until the young are big or strong enough to escape him!

We also caught some familiar faces in the form of pea mussels, pond snails, and various leeches. Leeches can survive in a wide variety of freshwater bodies including those with low dissolved oxygen which may indicate polluted waters. However as we are also regularly finding large numbers of blue olive mayfly, flat bodied upwing, caddis and stonefly larvae which are all very sensitive to pollution, we can assume that this river is healthy for Christmas. Yay!

Leech, possibly Erpobdella sp. next to a flat bodied upwing larva