Warm waters potential cause of weak breeding year for Machias Seal Island Atlantic puffins

Colonies of Atlantic puffins on Machias Seal Island in the Gulf of Maine have experienced a terrible breeding season this year, according to researchers monitoring the area.

The main colony typically produces a chick that fledges — or develops wing feathers big enough to fly on their own — in 60 per cent of its burrows. Typically, one burrow is home to one pair of puffins.

This year, however that number dropped drastically to only 12 per cent.

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“Even the puffins that did fledge I don’t think will survive,” said Tony Diamond, University of New Brunswick emeritus professor of wildlife ecology. “I don’t think they’ll come back to breed, they were underweight.”

“It was the worst year in 22 years of monitoring their production,”  he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It was the worst year in 22 years of monitoring their production,"  he said.

The chicks that do fledge are underdeveloped because of a lack of food in the area.

The food supply was once much stronger, but researchers say it’s dwindled and believe a warming climate could be the cause.

“We believe it’s certainly coincident with very rapidly rising water temperatures,” Diamond said.

A single weak breeding year isn’t particularly worrisome for researchers, however the region’s warming weather trends are.

Worse still, those studying the seas predict the water temperatures will continue to rise in the area.

“We are likely going to be a little ahead of average due to the position that we have,” said Andrew Pershing, Gulf of Maine Research Institute chief scientific officer.

“Being right on this boundary between cold water to the north and warm air and warm water to the south.”

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The oldest recorded puffin in the colony was 41 years old. Many others live close to that age as well, meaning the population has the potential for dramatic growth over time.

But trending away from the normal success of puffin breeding, and moving closer toward poorer seasons could be devastating to the bird that’s become synonymous with Atlantic Canada.

“Over 30 years a pair of puffins has to produce two [chicks] to replace themselves,” explained Diamond. “They’ve got maybe 25 breeding attempts in that time, so any one year is not a big deal, but this is two really bad years in four years.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Over 30 years a pair of puffins has to produce two [chicks] to replace themselves," explained Diamond. "They've got maybe 25 breeding attempts in that time, so any one year is not a big deal, but this is two really bad years in four years."