Population studies and conservation of Puffins Fratercula arctica
Abstract Seabirds are abundant in virtually all seas and oceans and as such are subject to a wide range of environmental conditions, both natural and influenced by man. The Common Puffin Fratercula arctica (L.) is an attractive bird of the islands and cliffs in the North Atlantic. It breeds in burro...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book Part |
| Language: | unknown |
| Published: |
Oxford University PressOxford
1991
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198577300.003.0011 https://academic.oup.com/book/chapter-pdf/52554674/isbn-9780198577300-book-part-11.pdf |
| Summary: | Abstract Seabirds are abundant in virtually all seas and oceans and as such are subject to a wide range of environmental conditions, both natural and influenced by man. The Common Puffin Fratercula arctica (L.) is an attractive bird of the islands and cliffs in the North Atlantic. It breeds in burrows and among boulders from Brittany (France) and Maine (USA) northwards to Spitzbergen and north Greenland. Many colonies have declined during this century due either to natural events, such as oceanographic change (Harris 1984), or to human-induced mortality and disturbance (Evans and Nettleship 1985), but total numbers in the early 1980s were estimated at 5-6 million pairs. The species is very popular with members of the general public; thus there is usually concern, and sometimes subsequent funding of research, when its future appears threatened. Here we report on the results of three such projects, in Scotland, Norway, and the USA, and discuss the relevance of the findings to the conservation of seabirds. |
|---|