Fratercula Arctica Research Articles

An estimate of summer food consumption of six seabird species in Iceland

The diet of the six most numerous seabird species found in Iceland was investigated during the summers of 1994 and 1995. A total of 1481 stomachs was analysed from common guillemots (Uria aalge), Brünnich's guillemots (U. lomvia), razorbills (Alca torda), puffins (Fratercula arctica), kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), and northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis). The combined summer populations of these species in Icelandic waters are estimated at eighteen million individuals. All species except the fulmar rely heavily on capelin (Mallotus villosus), sandeel (Ammodytes marinus), and euphausiids as food. The food of fulmars is different from the others, with discards and offal from fishing vessels probably comprising a substantial part of the summer diet. The estimated annual summer food consumption of the bird species investigated is 171 000 t of capelin, 184 000 t of sandeel, and 34 000 t of euphausiids. These estimates are likely to have wide confidence intervals but probably display the general picture. The results indicate that the consumption of capelin by seabirds needs to be taken into account when modelling trophic relationships involving capelin, for example, with commercially important fish species. Furthermore, capelin are fished commercially around Iceland and these seabird species may be eating about 8% of the total capelin biomass each summer. The results further emphasize the importance of sandeel and euphausiids as prey for the birds.

Effects of Supplementary Feeding on Provisioning and Growth Rates of Nestling Puffins Fratercula arctica: Evidence for Regulation of Growth

We used a supplementary feeding experiment to investigate the existence of a causal relationship between the nutritional status of nestling Puffins and the subsequent rates of food provisioning by their parents. Chicks given supplementary food received less frequent meals than controls, with the effect that the total amount of food received by the experimental group (parental delivery plus supplementary food) was similar to the amount delivered by parents in the control group. This indicated compensatory regulation of provisioning by parents in the experimental group. Increases in body size and body mass were virtually identical in the two groups until shortly before fledging, when supplemented chicks attained higher body mass than controls. This difference appeared to result mainly from the fact that unmanipulated chicks normally receive little food from their parents towards the end of the nestling period; supplements thus constituted a large proportion of chicks' normal daily food intake over this period, and compensatory reduction in food delivery by parents did not completely match the extra food given to chicks in the supplemented group. If growth rates of chicks were usually limited by poor food supply and adults delivered food to the chick at the maximum rate permitted by food availability irrespective of the chick's immediate nutritional requirements, then regulation of food delivery by parents would not be expected. The fact that adults were regulating food delivery to their offspring below the maximum attainable rate suggests that in this study at least, nestling growth rate was not limited by a scarce and unpredictable food supply.

Using Animal Behavior for Conservation

To develop successful restoration programs for wildlife, conservation biologists should consider features of animal behavior to help design restoration plans. This paper presents case studies of the first restored colonies of Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea), Common Terns (S. hirundo) and Roseate Terns (S. dougallii), Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) and Leach's Storm-Petrels (Oceanodroma leucorhoa). These restoration projects are based on the use of two fundamental and commonly occurring features of colonial waterbird behavior: social facilitation and philopatry.Social facilitation, the influence of one animal's behavior on that of its associates, was adapted for conservation purposes by placing decoys and sound recordings at historic nesting islands to simulate established colonies. The use of decoys and audio recordings to simulate and encourage social facilitation is referred to as social attraction. Philopatry, the tendency for young birds to recruit to nesting populations at their natal home, was adapted for conservation purposes by translocating puffin chicks from a large colony at the center of the range to historic nesting islands at the southern, historic limit of the puffin's range where they were extirpated nearly a century earlier by excessive hunting for food and feathers. Young puffins, reared and released from artificial burrows at two historic sites learned the location of the release sites and eventually returned to the long-extinct colonies rather than their hatching place.To restore colonies of terns and puffins that were displaced by Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, nesting population of these gulls were reduced at Eastern Egg Rock and Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) to encourage recolonization by terns and puffins. Common, Arctic and Roseate Terns were attracted to island recolonization sites off mid-coast Maine, USA using decoys and 24-hour playback recordings. By 1996, Seal Island NWR was the largest Arctic Tern colony in Maine with 956 pairs and Eastern Egg Rock was the largest Roseate Tern colony in the state with 126 nesting pairs of this endangered species. These successes using social attraction are compared to tern restoration on Petit Manan Island, Maine where gull control alone resulted in recolonization. In this example, terns were absent for only 4 years and many were still living with a memory of nesting on the island. After gull removal, these birds quickly recolonized in the same year that gull control began. In contrast, using gull control and social attraction, it took 3 and 5 years respectively for terns to re-colonize Eastern Egg Rock and Seal Island NWR (where terns had not nested for 44 and 36 years). In these cases, no living terns with a memory of nesting on these islands were available for recolonization.Puffin colonies at Eastern Egg Rock and Seal Island NWR were restored by translocating 3-40 (average 17) day-old puffin chicks from Newfoundland, Canada (approx. 1610km distant). A total of 954 and 950 chicks were translocated to Eastern Egg Rock and Seal Island NWR respectively. These were captive-reared in individual sod burrows which were opened at their entrance after the first week. The chicks were banded and permitted to fledge into the adjacent ocean. Translocated puffins began to return when two years old; many also visited nearby puffin colonies where some eventually nested. Recolonization at the historic nesting sites occurred in 1981 and 1992 respectively at Eastern Egg Rock and Seal Island NWR-in both cases 8 years after initiation of translocations. Four pairs nested in 1981, a number that increased to 19 pairs by 1985 and has remained constant at 16-19 pairs, due to recruitment of native-hatched chicks. At Seal Island NWR, 7 pairs nested in 1992 and increased to 40 pairs by 1996.

Allocation of Growth in Food-Stressed Atlantic Puffin Chicks

ABsmAcr.-In long-lived seabirds that lay a single-egg clutch, allocation of growth to certain body parts may be advantageous for the chick if food is limited. To investigate this, 40 Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) hatchlings were distributed in seven groups that were raised on different amounts of food to 38 days of age. When food intake was reduced, growth rates were depressed for all characters measured (i.e. body mass and length of the wing, 2nd primary, forearm, head + bill, culmen, skull, tarsus, and middle toe). Head and wing parts grew preferentially relative to the other characters, and onset of growth was delayed in the primaries. All chicks accumulated significant amounts of subcutaneous fat, whereas internal fat deposits were present only in the chicks that received the most food. Received 14 July 1995, accepted 20 March 1996.

Effects of investigator disturbance on breeding success of Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica

Reliable data on the breeding success of Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica are difficult to obtain because they readily desert their eggs when disturbed. Previous studies on puffins in Britain developed a visiting regime to study sites that caused no reduction in breeding success compared to undisturbed controls. However, reduced success following application of similar methods in other areas suggested that the response of puffins to disturbance may vary geographically and perhaps temporally. We designed a study to test whether that visiting regime reduced breeding success on Great Island, Newfoundland, in 1992. We monitored success in 1993 and 1994 to determine if the effects of our disturbance in 1992 persisted through subsequent breeding seasons. Chick productivity was reduced by 38% in disturbed study plots compared to control plots in 1992. Effects of disturbance persisted one year and were not apparent two years after the disturbance. We recommend that investigations of puffins be confined to the nestling period and that researchers include carefully designed controls to ensure that their study results are unbiased.

Food Supply as a Determinant of Reproduction and Population Development in Norwegian Puffins Fratercula arctica

Food Supply as a Determinant of Reproduction and Population Development in Norwegian Puffins Fratercula arctica

Sampling methods for assessing the diets of Atlantic puffin chicks

Three methods for sampling the diets of Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctjca chicks were compared and evaluated. Prey-carrying puffins were captured in mist-nets, or observed with a telescope or with unaided eyes. Prey samples collected in mist-nets yielded higher proportions of gravid capelin Mallotus villosus than did samples obtained visually. Telescopic samples produced higher estimates of the numbers of larval fish landed by puffins (larval fishes are often lost when food-laden birds are caught in mist-nets), and yielded underestimates of the lengths of male capelin Slight correction factors made the 3 prey sampling methods comparable Visual sampling procedures had the advantages of creating less disturbance and allowing puffins to deliver food to chicks. Use of telescopic sampling is, however, dependent on colony topography. Forage fishes, heavlly dominated by 2-yr-old capelin, made up 88% and 98% of the frequency and mass, respectively, of the prey delivered to puffin chicks. Small prey (larval capelin and sandlance Ammodytes spp., hake Urophycis tenuis, crustaceans) were most commonly fed to young chicks. Gravid and male capelin tended to be more commonly fed to chicks midway through the nestling period, a time of rapid growth. Spent female and immature capelin were fed more commonly to older chicks The lengths of gravid capelin tended to increase through the nestling penod. Gravid and spent female and male capelin and sandlance fed to puffin chicks were shorter in 1992 than in 1993 or 1994. Successful puffin chlcks on Great Island, Newfoundland, Canada, were fed an average of 1105 (SD = 435) prey items weighlng 2812 g (SD = 579) equivalent to 12506 kJ (SD = 2391). Extrapolation of these findings suggests that the population of Atlantic puffins in Newfoundland consumes about 8000+ t of forage fishes, mostly 2-yr-old female capelin during a breeding season. Data on age-class and gender status of prey harvests by marine birds will provide needed input in energetics and trophic models.

The Virtues and Shortcomings of Parochialism: Conserving Species That Are Locally Rare, but Globally Common

Conservation biologists are fairly good at looking at the big picture. Most of us fully understand alpha, beta, and gamma diversity and the importance of giving priority to biota that are in jeopardy at a global scale. However, when we move from thinking globally to acting locally, sometimes we lose our cosmopolitan perspective. For example, when the National Audubon Society set out to raise funds to restore a puffin population on an island on the Maine coast, it asked members to help save the endangered puffin. This fund-raising campaign required an extremely parochial view of the world, a view that saw a few score Atlantic puffins nesting in the United States and ignored millions in Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and Europe. Such parochialism is fostered by the fact that many conservationists are constrained by political units that are smaller than the geographic range of most species. This is especially true in North America, where almost all states and provinces maintain lists of species that are stateor province-endangered, and in Europe where Russia is the only nation covering a large area. Some people would argue that under these circumstances species are often listed primarily because they are near the edges of their geographic range and that peripheral populations do not merit any attention from conservationists. Is this reaction against parochialism warranted? In

Regulation of Parental Investment in a Long-Lived Seabird, the Puffin Fratercula arctica: An Experiment

We manipulated the investment needed by puffins to successfully raise a chick by experimentally reducing or prolonging the nestling period. The nestling period in one group was prolonged by replacing their 20-d old chick with a 6-d old foster chick. It was reduced in a second group by reversing the process. A third group was not manipulated and used as a control. When small chicks were replaced by large chicks, the growth rate of the new chicks did not differ from control chicks of similar age. When large chicks were replaced by small chicks the new chicks grew normally until the normal fledging time of controls. However, a significantly higher proportion of the chicks in the prolonged group was deserted by the parents. The few parents in the prolonged group that extended their nestling period were in poorer body condition at the end of the nestling period than were controls and parents with a reduced nestling period. The results show that, within the normal nestling period, the parents quickly adapted their feeding effort to the chick's needs, but that the amount of parental effort was regulated by the length of the period since hatching. The few parents that extended the nestling period did so at the expense of their own body condition.

The birds of Ydre Kitsissut (Kitsissut Avalliit), Southwest Greenland

Ydre Kitsissut (60°45-47'N, 48°25-29'W), an archipelago about 10 km off Nunarsuit in the district of Qaqortoq, is the only breeding reserve for birds in southern Greenland. However, it has only been visited by ornithologists four times: by F. Salomonsen on 3 July 1971, and by the authors for between 3 and 14 days in 1983, 1985, and 1992.
 Population sizes of the most abundant species in 1992 were: Fulmarus glacialis 125 occupied sites (32% with young); Somateria mollissima about 30 nests (and 500-1000 summering birds, together with c. 100 Somateria spectabilis); Larus hyperboreus at least 100 adults with 25-30 broods of young; Larus marinus 2 pairs, one brood (but 11 pairs in 1985); Rissa tridactyla 23 pairs, no young; Uria aalge 900 birds (about 630 pairs); Uria lomvia 9000 birds (6300 pairs); Alea torda 400-500 birds; Cepphus grylle 150 pairs (very rough estimate); Fratercula arctica 200 birds.
 Although numbers of Uria spp. in 1971 were reported as 61,200, there are good reasons to believe that this was a gross overestimate, and that actual numbers did not differ much from the more recent counts. Apparent population declines between 1983-85 and 1992 for Fulmarus glacialis, Larus marinus and Uria spp. may reflect a lower attendance at the colony in 1992 where the breeding success of these and most other species was low. The poor breeding performance was most likely a consequence of the cold and prolonged winter 1991/92, with persistent frost prevailing until after mid-June. In Uria spp., however, egging and associated disturbance probably was the primary cause of breeding failure; residents of nearby villages habitually take eggs on Ydre Kitsissut in spite of its status as a bird reserve.

Ingested elastic and other artifacts found in puffins in Britain over a 24-year period

In 1969-1970 the numbers of puffins (Fratercula arctica) nesting in Britain and Ireland were found to be much reduced compared to previous years. Coincidentally, lengths of elastic were recovered from the stomachs of puffins shot off Norway or found dead in eastern Britain, and the ingestion of such pollutants was considered a possible causative factor in the decline of the puffin. The latter authors noted that further studies were underway to assess the frequency of occurrence of elastic in puffins. This contribution reports on artifacts found between 1969 and 1992.

Census and Monitoring of Puffins Fratercula arctica on Rost, N Norway, 1979-1988

Census and Monitoring of Puffins Fratercula arctica on Rost, N Norway, 1979-1988

Heavy metal and metallothionein concentrations in Atlantic Canadian seabirds.

Seabird tissues, collected during the 1988 breeding season from colonies on the Atlantic coast of Canada, were analyzed for toxic metals--Cd, Hg and Pb--and 18 other trace elements. Metallothionein (MT) was measured in kidney, and kidneys and livers underwent histopathological examination. Levels of most essential trace elements appear to be closely regulated in seabird tissues; values were in good agreement with those previously reported in the published literature. Liver-Se concentrations in Leach's storm-petrels (Oceanodroma leukorrhea) (77.6 + 7.49 micrograms/g dry weight) were much higher than values normally reported for free-living birds and mammals. Cd levels varied greatly among individuals, but were always higher in kidney than in liver. Highest mean Cd concentrations (183 + 65 micrograms/g dry weight) were in kidneys of the planktivorous Leach's storm-petrels from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A few individuals of this species had values greater than 300 micrograms/g dry weight. Cd and metallothionein (MT) concentrations were positively correlated in kidneys of Leach's storm-petrels (r = 0.692), Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) (r = 0.845) and herring gull (Larus argentatus) (r = 0.866). Concentrations of total Hg varied greatly among species and individuals, but were consistently higher in liver than in kidney. Highest mean levels (21 + 28 micrograms/g) were in livers of the piscivorous double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) from Saint John Harbour in the Bay of Fundy. Concentrations of Hg and Se were positively correlated (r = 0.736) in livers of Leach's storm-petrel, but not in other species. Pb concentrations were consistently greatest in bone, with mean levels being highest in herring gulls from a colony in the Bay of Fundy (63 + 36 micrograms/g). Histological examination of liver and kidney failed to reveal indications of tissue damage associated with elevated levels of heavy metals.

Winter Diet of Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) in the Northeast Atlantic

Winter Diet of Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) in the Northeast Atlantic

Chick Growth, Fledging Periods and Adult Mass Loss of Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica during Years of Prolonged Food Stress

Chick Growth, Fledging Periods and Adult Mass Loss of Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica during Years of Prolonged Food Stress

Mortality rates of puffin Fratercula arctica and guillemot Uria aalge and fish abundance in the North Sea

The populations of puffins and guillemots on the Isle of May, East Scotland increased greatly during the 1960s and 1970s. These increases ceased in the 1980s. Breeding success remained high but there were declines in the survival rates of adult, and possibly also immature, puffins and an increase in the number of ringed guillemots recovered in the first winter of life. These changes appeared to be linked with a change in the number and distribution of sprats.

Morphologic and Genetic Variation among Breeding Colonies of the Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)

AI•STRACT.--Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) exhibit clinal variation in body size. Taxohomists have used this variation to differentiate three subspecies (F. a. grabae, F. a. arctica, F. a. numanni). I collected morphological data and blood samples from five Atlantic Puffin colonies to assess differences in body size and allozyme patterns over large geographical distances. I analyzed differences within and among colonies and between F. a. grabae and F. a. arctica. Body size among all but the two most southerly colonies differed significantly. Isoelectric focusing of serum proteins revealed that 5 of 32 loci studied were polymorphic. An average measure of heterozygosity within a colony relative to the total population studied (FsT = 0.0031) indicated genetic differentiation among colonies was low and similar. Nei's (0.0005) and Rogers' (0.0096) average genetic distances also indicated the colonies were similar genetically. Body sizes of puffins generally increased with latitude but not on a cline predicted by ocean temperature alone. I speculate that variation in body sizes among colonies of the Atlantic Puffin is due to the combined environmental effects of ocean temperature and food quality. Received 23 July 1990, accepted 18 April 1991.

Sex Differences in Reproductive Behavior of Atlantic Puffins

Female Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) incubated eggs longer and fed chicks more often than males, whereas males spent more time maintaining and defending the nesting burrow. Although time together was greatest during the pre-laying period, pair members were apart most of the time, suggesting limited mate guarding. Males attempt extra-pair copulations, but because copulations occurred on the water where females can dive to escape, copulations were never forced and may have been successful only between mates. These data suggest that the paired female's ability and willingness to prevent mating with additional males may be important in the evolution of mate guarding. Sex differences in time budgets and male mating attempts were consistent with suggestions that even with shared parental care in monogamous species, females invest more in direct care of the young (parental effort), while males invest more in territorial defense and attempted extra matings (mating effort).

The Prey and Diving Depths of Seabirds on Hornoy, North Norway after a Decrease in the Barents Sea Capelin Stocks

Following a supposed decrease in food availability during the breeding season as a result of a collapse in the Barents Sea capelin Mallotus villosus stock in 1986/87, it was hypothesized that there would be an increase in food competition and partitioning between the seabird species breeding in the region. A comparison of the diets collected from seven seabird species breeding on Horn0y in 1983 and 1989 showed that, despite a much lower capelin stock they actually caught a higher proportion of capelin in 1989, but fewer sandeels Ammodytes sp. It seems that the seabirds on Horn0y were more dependant on the sandeels than initially anticipated, and that sandeels have declined in abundance. We propose that the seabirds on Horn0y may also exploit a separate, late-spawning fjordic stock of capelin during the chick-rearing period. The median maximum diving depths attained by Common and Briinnich's Guillemots Uria aalge and U. lomvia were ca. 50 m, while Razorbills Alca torda, Puffins Fratercula arctica and Shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis reached 25-30 m (median). These depths reflected the distribution of prey more than the birds' diving abilities.

Distribution of Puffins Fratercula arctica feeding off R�st, northern Norway, during the breeding season, in relation to chick growth, prey and oceanographical parameters

Distribution of Puffins Fratercula arctica feeding off R�st, northern Norway, during the breeding season, in relation to chick growth, prey and oceanographical parameters