Abstract
We examined the diet of Atlantic puffin ( Fratercula arctica) chicks at three midcoast Maine, USA, colonies during the years 2005–2014 and found that the puffins at each island have a distinct diet that has changed in recent years. White hake ( Urophycis tenuis) is by far the most frequently delivered prey at each island. Atlantic herring ( Clupea harengus) is the second most frequently delivered food, but has declined in recent years on two islands. In contrast, butterfish ( Poronotus triacanthus), haddock ( Melanogrammus aeglefinus), and redfish ( Sebastes spp.) have increased in the puffin diet on all islands. Chick condition declined significantly from 1993 to 2009. We demonstrate that puffin chicks with greater body weight experience a higher chance of postfledging survival as compared to chicks with lower body weight. The years 2012–2013 were a period of extreme sea surface warming, in which puffin hatching success and productivity sharply declined. This study provides new insight into changes in marine communities, examining changes in chick diet. We discuss our findings in relation to warming sea surface temperatures, recent climate-related decline in puffin productivity in the Gulf of Maine, and the impact of commercial fisheries on forage fish.
Highlights
Puffins are especially good indicators of forage fish populations because of their strong breeding site fidelity and extended chick-rearing period
The three puffin colonies investigated in this study are relatively close together, the constellation of prey delivered varied between islands, though several key species dominated the catch at all islands (Fig. 2)
Eastern Egg Rock puffin chick diet has remained relatively constant over the 10-year period (2005–2014), with white hake (Urophysis tenuis) comprising about 75% of the identified food items delivered to chicks throughout the study
Summary
Puffins are especially good indicators of forage fish populations because of their strong breeding site fidelity and extended chick-rearing period. Many studies point to the importance of including predatory fish, marine mammals, and seabirds in models predicting forage fish populations (Cury et al 2011; Tyrell et al 2011; Smith et al 2015). These models provide theoretical justification for including the effects of predators when designing ecosystem-based fishery management plans (Fogarty 2014; Travis et al 2014; Overholtz et al 2008), but empirical studies that examine the relationship between ample food, condition of seabird chicks, and chick survival in the wild are rare
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