Written by Cai Davies, Translated by Iwan Thomas

Behind two unassuming doors in the university’s Edward Llwyd building lies a facility that produces important research and teaches future marine biologists.

The Aberystwyth University Aquarium offers opportunities for learning about, teaching on, and researching marine species. It is located on the ground floor of the Edward Llwyd building and consists of two rooms – a research aquarium and a teaching aquarium. Each room teems with underwater life.

Technician Rory Geoghegan currently manages the facility, having worked there for twenty years. It is his responsibility to care for its water-dwelling residents. It is also his responsibility to refit, replumb and fit each project into the facility. Rory emphasises the importance of the facility being flexible to its changing and developing projects. This allows it to house both seawater and freshwater tanks, and keep the tanks at specific temperatures as needed.

Each year the facility hosts the final year projects of twenty students. These projects include researching the effect of noise on fish behaviour and studying the fighting habits of anemones.

Scientific research conducted in the aquariums include testing the effect of kairomones (chemicals emitted by predators) on prey animals. By piping water from a tank with tench and goldfish into tanks with prey species, researchers can observe any reactions to the chemical.

A poster in the corridor outside goes into more detail about this and other research projects conducted within.

The facility requires various systems to pump the considerable amounts of water needed. It once used natural seawater pumped from local rockpools, but now uses around 20,000 litres of artificial seawater.

The vast range of species housed within the facility currently include tench, goldfish, sticklebacks, crabs, lobster, prawns, anemonies, guppies, and many others. It has previously housed salmon, trout, crayfish, cichlids, zebrafish, African clawed frogs and axolotls.

The facility aims to catch from the wild and release to the wild where possible. Although the aquarium holds a license to conduct tests on animals, it has only carried out behavioural studies for the past several years.

The aquarium has previously conducted research on parasitology, as well as raising salmon in order to study their life cycle. It is currently researching the circadian rhythms of crabs, a process that I witnessed first-hand during my visit. Rory and another student set up a tank to fill and empty out twice a day, in order to artificially recreate the tides. This allowed them to observe the behaviour of crabs as though they were in an actual intertidal zone.

The facility has been an important part of outreach for the university. For example, it held an aquarium exhibition for school children during Science Week.

I believe that the aquarium’s many impressive species, projects, and activities show just how important it is. I would highly recommend a visit.

For more information, visit: https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/life-sciences/our-facilities/aquarium.

Special thanks to Rory Geoghegan for assistance with this article.

Cymraeg

Y tu ôl i ddau ddrws cymedrol yn adeilad Edward Llwyd y Brifysgol mae cyfleuster sy'n cynhyrchu ymchwil pwysig ac yn addysgu biolegwyr morol y dyfodol. 

Mae Acwariwm Prifysgol Aberystwyth yn cynnig cyfleoedd i ddysgu am rywogaethau morol, eu haddysgu ac ymchwilio iddynt. Mae wedi ei leoli ar lawr gwaelod adeilad Edward Llwyd ac yn cynnwys dwy ystafell - acwariwm ymchwil ac acwariwm dysgu. Mae pob ystafell yn gyforiog o fywyd tanddwr. 

Ar hyn o bryd mae'r technegydd Rory Geoghegan yn rheoli'r cyfleuster, ar ôl gweithio yno am ugain mlynedd. Ei gyfrifoldeb ef yw gofalu am ei drigolion dyfrol. Ei gyfrifoldeb ef hefyd yw ailosod, ail-blymio a gosod pob prosiect yn y cyfleuster. Mae Rory yn pwysleisio pa mor bwysig yw hi i'r cyfleuster fod yn hyblyg i'w brosiectau sy'n newid ac yn datblygu. Mae hyn yn caniatáu iddo gadw tanciau dŵr môr a dŵr croyw, a chadw'r tanciau ar dymheredd penodol yn ôl yr angen. 

Bob blwyddyn mae'r cyfleuster yn cynnal prosiectau blwyddyn olaf ugain o fyfyrwyr. Mae'r prosiectau hyn yn cynnwys ymchwilio i effaith sŵn ar ymddygiad pysgod ac astudio arferion ymladd anemonïau. 

Mae ymchwil wyddonol a wneir yn yr acwaria yn cynnwys profi effaith kairomones (cemegau a allyrrir gan ysglyfaethwyr) ar anifeiliaid ysglyfaethus. Trwy bibellu dŵr o danc gyda tench a physgod aur i danciau â rhywogaethau rheibus, gall ymchwilwyr arsylwi unrhyw adweithiau i'r cemegyn. 

Mae poster yn y coridor y tu allan yn rhoi mwy o fanylion am hyn a phrosiectau ymchwil eraill a gynhaliwyd yno. 

Mae angen systemau amrywiol ar y cyfleuster i bwmpio'r symiau sylweddol o ddŵr sydd ei angen. Arferai ddefnyddio dŵr môr naturiol a bwmpiwyd o byllau glan y môr lleol, ond erbyn hyn mae'n defnyddio tua 20,000 litr o ddŵr môr artiffisial. 

Mae'r ystod eang o rywogaethau sy'n cael eu cadw yn y cyfleuster ar hyn o bryd yn cynnwys ysgretennod, pysgod aur, cefn pigog, crancod, cimychiaid, corgimychiaid, anemonïau, gypïod, a llawer o rai eraill. Mae wedi bod yn gartref i eogiaid, brithyllod, cimychiaid yr afon, cichlidau, pysgod sebra, brogaod crafanc Affricanaidd ac axolotls. 

Nod y cyfleuster yw dal o'r gwyllt a rhyddhau i'r gwyllt lle bo modd. Er bod gan yr acwariwm drwydded i gynnal profion ar anifeiliaid, dim ond ers sawl blwyddyn y mae wedi cynnal astudiaethau ymddygiad. 

Mae'r acwariwm eisoes wedi cynnal ymchwil ar barasitoleg, yn ogystal â chodi eogiaid i astudio eu cylch bywyd. Ar hyn o bryd mae'n ymchwilio i rythmau circadian crancod, proses y gwelais fy hun yn ystod fy ymweliad. Gosododd Rory a myfyriwr arall danc i'w lenwi a'i wagio ddwywaith y dydd, er mwyn ail-greu'r llanw yn artiffisial. Roedd hyn yn caniatáu iddynt arsylwi ymddygiad cranc fel pe baent mewn parth rhynglanwol go iawn. 

Mae'r cyfleuster wedi bod yn rhan bwysig o allgymorth i'r Brifysgol. Er enghraifft, cynhaliodd arddangosfa acwariwm i blant ysgol yn ystod Wythnos Wyddoniaeth. 

Credaf fod nifer o rywogaethau, prosiectau a gweithgareddau trawiadol yr acwariwm yn dangos pa mor bwysig ydyw. Byddwn yn argymell ymweliad yn fawr. 

Am ragor o wybodaeth, ewch i: https://www.aber.ac.uk/cy/life-sciences/our-facilities/aquarium/  

Diolch arbennig i Rory Geoghagan am help gyda'r erthgyl hon.