Problems for North American Atlantic Puffins

Paul J. Baicich

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Atlantic Puffins are in some serious trouble in U.S./Canadian waters. In the Gulf of Maine, these birds have been losing body weight and even dying of starvation, possibly as a result of shifting fish populations caused by an increase in ocean temperature. Shifting fish populations can impact the productivity of puffins and other local seabirds. In this region, the lack of herring is perceived to be the major problem species.

At most colonies, Atlantic Puffins are typically able to continue to produce chicks when there is a food shortage, but often these chicks are smaller and will weigh less, says USFWS biologist Linda Welch.

Last summer, the survival rates of fledglings on Maine's two largest puffin colonies plunged, and currently puffins are in declining health at the largest puffin colony in the Gulf. This colony, on Machias Seal Island on the Maine-Canada border, has witnessed some drastic changes. At Machias Seal Island, the average body weight of both adult and young puffins is declining, according to Tony Diamond, aUniversity of New Brunswick professor who studies the birds on Machias Seal Island. The amount of herring in the birds' diet there has also been falling by about five percent a year, Diamond said.

According to Steve Kress, who has worked to restore and sustain the Atlantic Puffin population off the Maine coast over four decades, the diet issue is a very serious concern. Instead of primarily feeding their youngsters a herring diet, Atlantic Puffin parents have been attempting to feed their young butterfish, normally a more southerly fish that has become increasingly abundant in Gulf waters. Butterfish has become more accessible to seabirds because the fish have moved higher in the water column in response to temperature change. Unfortunately puffin chicks can still starve to death because the butterfish are too big and round for the youngsters to readily swallow, Kress said. Piles of uneaten butterfish have been found next to some of the dead puffin chicks.

Interestingly, Atlantic Puffins in the Gulf of Maine seem to be particularly vulnerable since they live on the southern periphery of the species' breeding range.

"You never know what climate change will bring," Kress says. "We don't know how the puffin will adapt to these changes ­ or if they'll adapt to these conditions," he adds.

Related problems plague other seabirds in the region, such as Arctic and Roseate Terns and Razorbills. You can read a recent USFWS review of the issue here:
http://www.fws.gov/refuges/news/SeabirdsWarnOceanChange.html