Winter Diet of Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) in the Northeast Atlantic

Falk, Knud; Jensen, Jens‐Kjeld; Kampp, Kaj

doi:10.2307/1521457

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…There are no other data on winter diets of Northwest Atlantic puffins, though information from the Northeast Atlantic suggests strong regional variation (Falk et al 1992). Offshore puffins in the Norwegian Sea largely consumed glacier lanternfish Benthosema glaciale and squid Gonatus fabricii in winter, whereas inshore puffins, near the Faroe Islands, consumed euphausiid crustaceans and fish (largely sandlance; Falk et al 1992).…”

Section: Adult Foraging Ecology: Seasonal Variation In Trophic Nichementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Offshore puffins in the Norwegian Sea largely consumed glacier lanternfish Benthosema glaciale and squid Gonatus fabricii in winter, whereas inshore puffins, near the Faroe Islands, consumed euphausiid crustaceans and fish (largely sandlance; Falk et al 1992). Overall, fish were the most important prey in the Northeast Atlantic.…”

Section: Adult Foraging Ecology: Seasonal Variation In Trophic Nichementioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonal shift in the foraging niche of Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica revealed by stable isotope (δ15N and δ13C) analyses

Hedd¹,

Fifield²,

Burke³

et al. 2010

Aquat. Biol.

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We measured tissue stable nitrogen (δ 15 N) and carbon (δ 13 C) values to investigate the extent of seasonal and age-related variation in the foraging ecology of Atlantic puffins. For adults, there was considerable seasonal variation in the foraging niche. A generalized, lower trophic level (TL) diet during the winter moult was replaced by a highly specialized, higher TL diet during summer when birds were rearing chicks. The seasonal δ 15 N enrichment of 2.36 ‰ is consistent with an increase of 0.65 TL. Output from a 2-source single isotope (δ 15 N) mixing model suggested that adult diets were composed largely of zooplankton during winter with a switch to capelin (or other higher TL prey) in summer. A concurrent decrease in δ 15 N variability suggests that adult diets are more varied in winter. Trophic position of first-year birds was similar across summer and fall, as they went from being provisioned by parents at the colony to feeding independently. Both isotope mixing model and stomach contents analysis suggested that first-year birds relied largely (> 85%) on capelin (or other higher TL fish) in fall. In summer, the trophic position of adults was significantly higher than that of nestlings; however, greater δ 15 N variability suggested that nestling diet was mixed overall. Shipboard surveys indicated an offshore movement of puffins post-breeding; however, this distributional shift was not reflected in δ 13 C signatures of adults. The dietary shift and increased TL of adult Atlantic puffins from winter to summer is consistent with reports for puffin species in the Pacific, suggesting that puffins may undergo the most extensive seasonal trophic shift among the auk species.

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Section: Adult Foraging Ecology: Seasonal Variation In Trophic Nichementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Adult Foraging Ecology: Seasonal Variation In Trophic Nichementioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal shift in the foraging niche of Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica revealed by stable isotope (δ15N and δ13C) analyses

Hedd¹,

Fifield²,

Burke³

et al. 2010

Aquat. Biol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thus invertebrates may make up a major component of the Puffin's winter diet, and many of these invertebrates are small crustacea which occur in dense swarms (Falk et al . ). The perceptual tasks involved in locating and catching such prey appear more challenging since planktonic crustacea are mobile, semi‐transparent and distributed in three dimensions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In addition, although information on diet outside the breeding season is more fragmentary, the available data indicate that Puffins take a much higher proportion of very small prey items such as planktonic crustacea and marine worms (Falk et al . , Harris et al . ).…”

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confidence: 95%