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Seabirds: The Atlantic Puffin

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Rising temperatures and climate change threaten the survival of the common puffin and other marine species. Find out how they are affected by these issues and what is being done to protect them.

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The common puffin is called the "Clown of the sea" because of its painted face, its docile character and its graceful walk.

Climate change has been threatening the survival of humans and many species of wildlife. 

The increase in the average temperature of the atmosphere and seas due to global warming it has affected animals in the way they eat, migrate, reproduce and live! One of these animals is a colorful seabird called the Atlantic Puffin or Atlantic Puffin.

Their habitat ranges from Iceland, Greenland, Ireland, Norway, and the United Kingdom in Europe to Newfoundland, Canada, and along the coast of Maine in the United States, in North America.

About 90 percent of puffins are found in Europe and sixty percent of puffins breed in Iceland and most of them are found in the Westman Islands in Iceland.

Most of its time is spent in the open ocean like other seabirds such as the Frigate.

It generally lives on uninhabited islets without land predators that threaten it. However, it is other birds such as seagulls that, after the Puffin catches a fish, intercept it in the air to steal its livelihood.

Its reproduction.

To raise a chick, the pair breed in the months of April and May and choose the cliffs to nest their eggs.

At a very early stage, the chick goes to the sea to feed and until then the parents feed it smaller fish such as sand eels, capelin, and hake or herring that make up 90 percent of its diet.

Global warming is a reality for sensitive species in the food chain.

However, with the rise in sea temperatures, most of these small fish have been dying or drifting off into the deeper waters. This decrease in the availability of their food has led to the puffins not being able to feed or feed their young.

Sometimes they fly further, which again wastes more of their energy. This has resulted in a delay in the breeding season, in the same way that Emperor penguins suffer from the reduction of their hunting areas. Exhausted and desperate, they try to feed the young ones with other available fish, such as butterfish or larger herrings that the chicks find difficult to swallow.

Emaciated, hungry and dead, a large population of puffins is found on land, raising concerns in the scientific community.

Also, puffins have been hunted by humans for centuries. Although, hunting is restricted now, but it contributes to population decline.

With the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as storms, several seabirds are being devastated over the years and half of these seabirds are puffins.

The factors could be many for the sharp decline of these puffins, however, we have ample evidence to conclude that the increase in temperature due to climate change is the main cause of the decline of small fish that are food for these puffins.

Frequently asked questions from our readers:

The habitat of the Atlantic Puffin is the rocky shores and cliffs of the Atlantic Ocean, especially in northern Europe and North America. Read more here: https://www.equilibriumx.com/ecoturismo-y-conservacion/aves-marinas-el-frailecillo-atlantico
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Last modified: March 22, 2024