Population trends in an Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) colony determined from a ~500-year sediment core

Abstract

The global population of Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) is declining. This decline has been linked to numerous anthropogenic impacts. However, untangling these impacts from fluctuations due to colony dynamics is complicated by the lack of historical population data. Paleoecological reconstructions based on chemical and biological signatures in sediment cores taken from seabird colonies have been successfully used to infer historical trends in nesting seabird numbers for several seabird species, but not for Atlantic puffin. This research uses diatom assemblages, stable isotopes, metal(loid)s, sterols and stanols, and chlorophyll a to reconstruct an Atlantic puffin colony located in the western North Atlantic near Fogo Island, Newfoundland. The analysis shows that numbers of Atlantic Puffins nesting at this colony remained relatively stable from ~1450 CE, and began increasing in ~1966 CE, with a sharp and rapid population increase suggested from the 1990’s to present. The five proxies used had good congruence with one another. This corresponds with other evidence that Atlantic puffin populations in Newfoundland are stable or increasing, in contrast to colonies elsewhere in their range. The apparent increase at this colony also coincided with several significant changes in conditions, including the collapse of the cod fishing industry in Newfoundland.