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Volume 53, No. 2

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Behavioral response of Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica to marine heatwaves in the Gulf of Maine, USA: A webcam study.


Authors

JULIE WALLACE1, KEENAN YAKOLA2,3, STEPHEN W. KRESS2,4, & DONALD E. LYONS2,3
1J. A. Wallace, Ontario, Canada (julie.wallace@ieee.org)
2National Audubon Society Seabird Institute, Bremen, Maine, USA
3Oregon State University, Oregon, USA
4Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA

Citation

Wallace, J., Yakola, K., Kress, S. W., & Lyons, D. E. (2025). Behavioral response of Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica to marine heatwaves in the Gulf of Maine, USA: A webcam study. Marine Ornithology 53(2), 285-297
http://doi.org/10.5038/2074-1235.53.2.1655

Received 16 January 2025, accepted 30 May 2025

Date Published: 2025/10/15
Date Online: 2025/10/07
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Key words: Atlantic Puffins, marine heatwaves, parenting roles, plasticity, chick behavior

Abstract

We observed a family of Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica in a burrow on Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge in the Gulf of Maine, USA, during the 2017-2020 and 2022 breeding seasons. The burrow was equipped with a high-resolution web camera, which allowed 24-hour daily observations. We investigated the impacts of elevated sea surface temperature (SST) and marine heatwaves (MHWs), which are linked to low food availability, on chick provisioning and burrow attendance. In 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2022, the female was the primary provisioner, providing twice as many feedings as the male, and the male was the primary burrow guardian, spending twice as much time at the burrow as the female. Using generalized linear models to estimate relationships between SST, feeding rates, and burrow attendance, we found that higher SST was associated with lower feeding rates and burrow attendance. These impacts were amplified in 2018 amid a prolonged MHW. The puffins struggled to find food consistently, leading to lower provisioning rates, smaller bill-loads of mostly low-quality prey, and a visibly under-nourished chick. This prompted the male to trade his burrow-guarding role for additional chick provisioning, and the chick fledged after 69 days, 28 days longer than is typical. This study is the first to demonstrate that Atlantic Puffins can modify their usual parenting roles in response to prey availability, deferring migration and extending chick-rearing by as many as four weeks. We also observed modification in chick behavior amid a high-intensity MHW in 2022, during which the chick was frequently provisioned with American Butterfish Peprilus triacanthus, a deep-bodied fish that is not easily swallowed. The chick consistently consumed butterfish piecemeal, pulling off and swallowing small pieces, until the remaining portion was small enough to be swallowed. This was an effective strategy and a behavior that has not previously been reported.

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