Atlantic puffin population is in danger, scientists warn

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Atlantic puffin population is in danger, scientists warn

Associated Press in Portland, Maine
guardian.co.uk, Monday 3 June 2013 16.23 BST

The Atlantic puffin population is at risk in the United States, and there are signs the seabirds are in distress in other parts of the world.

In the Gulf of Maine, the comical-looking seabirds have been dying of starvation and losing body weight, possibly because of shifting fish populations as ocean temperatures rise, according to scientists.

The survival rates of fledglings on Maine's two largest puffin colonies plunged last summer, and puffins are in declining health at the largest puffin colony in the gulf, on a Canadian island about 10 miles off eastern Maine. Dozens of emaciated birds were found washed ashore in Massachusetts and Bermuda this past winter, likely victims of starvation.

Whether dead puffins will continue washing up on shore and puffin chick survival rates will stay low remains to be seen. But there are enough signals suggesting that puffins and other seabirds could be in trouble, said Rebecca Holberton, a professor at the University of Maine who has studied puffins for years.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jun/03/atlantic-puffin-population-risk-scientists

[RobertEarl]

1. As was expected

It's all bad news for the wildlife from here on.

Ever hear of 'canary in the coal mine'? Bye-bye-birdies.

[Socialistlemur]

2. Additional information

I looked up the NOAA data set and comments and found te following

"Long-term SST trends at all four sites demonstrate that, al-though temperatures are currently higher than the 100-year average for each region, they are lower than the 100-year maximum seen in the 1950s. Since 1960, water temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Southern New England have remained cooler than the 1950 maximum, but water temperatures have been slowly increasing towards this maximum in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank. Water temperature is influenced by the influx of cooler, fresher water from the north, and the occurrence of low-salinity events has also increased since the early 1990s (Mountain, 2004). "

http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/nauplius/media/time-series/site__northwest-nmfs-gom/

The data shows the temperature anomaly is about one degree Centigrade. This confirms the article's point that water temperature seems to be inducing changes. The Gulf of Maine is a marginal area for puffins, they are found mostly to the North. So they'll have to adapt to a northward shift as the ocean warms. I also read there are changes in low salinity events and other problems. But the water temperature was warmer in the 50's. I think over the long haul the 1950's conditions will be reached and exceeded, but that's going to depend on whether currents still flow as they do now. I guess the Gulf Stream could stall and the area will get colder.