{"id":1834,"date":"2015-01-29T17:58:26","date_gmt":"2015-01-29T17:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biosi.subsite.cf.ac.uk\/biosi\/kille-morgan\/?p=1834"},"modified":"2015-07-20T15:50:56","modified_gmt":"2015-07-20T15:50:56","slug":"pico-to-terceira-a-new-population-of-volcanic-worms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sites.cardiff.ac.uk\/kille-morgan\/2015\/01\/29\/pico-to-terceira-a-new-population-of-volcanic-worms\/","title":{"rendered":"Pico to Terceira: A new population of ‘volcanic’ worms"},"content":{"rendered":"

So a few hours to kill – before our 20 minute flight to Terceira. This staggered return was initially a necessity of flight connections than a planned excursion but thanks to some great connections made by Archepeliogo Choice we had arranged to sample in Terceira.<\/p>\n

So with all our samples packed up we had an hour spare, so we thought that we should see why Pico has world heritage status. Flying in on Sunday we had seen some of the unique stone walled vineyards that look like a combination between a Welsh sheep corral and a hedge maze. We had been told that if we went out of 10 mins to the South of Madelena we would see the highest density of these unique agricultural features. They were not hard to find and \u2018fantastical\u2019 \u2013 my only difficulty was that we were standing there in beautiful sun and a gentle breeze looking over these structures whose primary function is to protect the vineyards from the ferocious gales that drive off the Atlantic, we were so lucky !!<\/p>\n

\"Vinyards\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We did not have time to see the larva tube that forms a vast natural cavern \u2013 but there has to be something to see the next time.<\/p>\n

Off to the airport and it was time to go island hopping \u2013 we take buses in the Azores the people take ferries and plans \u2013 so we embarked on the midday island shuttle.<\/p>\n

Because of our limited time in Terceira \u2013 barely an afternoon \u2013 Archipelago Choice<\/a> had organised for us to be meet by a local guide in a four-wheel drive. They had also told us that the guide would provide us with a pack lunch to eat on the go so we could make the most out of our visit. Well we were greeted by Tiago (Fortuna) of Comunicair<\/a> who had instructions to show us the Island and to help us sample.<\/p>\n

Well what can I say \u2013 from the start we got the feeling that this was going to be a magical and productive afternoon. Tiago had been in touch with the representatives of the National Park on Terceira (Lu\u00edsa Br\u00e1s, Paula Cordeiro) and persuaded them to give us special permission to sample in the protected volcanic field. This was great news \u2013 what followed was out of this world. We arrived at the Terceira volcanic field with no one else to spoil the view\u2026<\/p>\n

\"ter_view<\/figure>\n

We walked short distance into the center of the fumaroles for a \u2018picnic\u2019 well what is meant by \u2018picnic\u2019 is fine wine, spicy sausage cooked over a alcohol burner, some wonderful filled baguettes finished off with a very tasty local cake \u2013 spent the whole meal telling Iain that this was not usual for field work rations.<\/p>\n

\"Lunch<\/a><\/p>\n

As we finished us our banquet the local wardens, Marina and Paula, from the national Parks of Terceira turned up and after explaining the science behind our trip they seemed very keen for us to find \u2018volcanic\u2019 earthworms even more resistant that those on Sao Miguel. So we identified an area just in the side of the main fumarole and with steam rising around me I started carefully looking for worms \u2013 I could not believe it, in ground where I could feel the heat through my hands I pulled off 10 Amythas sp. (the earthworms we were looking for) in 10 minutes in <1M square\u2026\u2026\u2026.. science does not get better than this.<\/p>\n

\"ter_sampling\"<\/figure>\n

Although I then tried to sample closer to the main vents the area was covered in moss and lichen and no worms were rising.<\/p>\n

\"ter_ontothevolcanicfield\"<\/figure>\n

But the afternoon did not end there… we needed a none volcanic population and ideally a population on \u2018indigenous vegetation\u2019 \u2013 but this was easy when you have Tiago; as a guide. Within 10 minutes we were walking through a align landscape covered in moss, lichen, Juniper and scrub \u2013 and yes within a short time we had our worms.<\/p>\n

\"SamplingOnNewLarva\"<\/figure>\n

We did also collect from a cow field but this was not what I will remember the rest of the afternoon for \u2013 I will remember the piece and quiet a majesty of an Island landscape like no other.<\/p>\n

\"AWalkOnTer\"<\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tiago told us that he runs \u2018digital detox\u2019 courses, mountain biking adventure and much more \u2013 you know what I recommend it to any one. The tranquility and serenity of an undiscovered Island paradise took over and has won me over \u2013 I am coming back on holiday.<\/p>\n

\"Ter_interior\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And and yes the Terceira had one last treat for us…..a Pico sunset.<\/p>\n

\"Pico<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So a few hours to kill – before our 20 minute flight to Terceira. This staggered return was initially a necessity of flight connections than a planned excursion but thanks to some great connections made by Archepeliogo Choice we had arranged to sample in Terceira. So with all our samples packed up we had an<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3463,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-azores","category-azores2015","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6t6rP-tA","meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sites.cardiff.ac.uk\/kille-morgan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sites.cardiff.ac.uk\/kille-morgan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sites.cardiff.ac.uk\/kille-morgan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sites.cardiff.ac.uk\/kille-morgan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3463"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sites.cardiff.ac.uk\/kille-morgan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1834"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/sites.cardiff.ac.uk\/kille-morgan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2738,"href":"http:\/\/sites.cardiff.ac.uk\/kille-morgan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1834\/revisions\/2738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sites.cardiff.ac.uk\/kille-morgan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sites.cardiff.ac.uk\/kille-morgan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sites.cardiff.ac.uk\/kille-morgan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}