Puffin population shrinks at largest UK colony
British conservationists say the latest puffin survey on the Isle of May, in the Firth of Forth, revealed 41,000 pairs (MP Harris)
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Wednesday, 04, Jun 2008 12:52
The largest single colony of Atlantic Puffins in the UK has almost halved in numbers over the last five years, it was claimed on Wednesday.
British conservationists say the latest puffin survey on the Isle of May, in the Firth of Forth, revealed 41,000 pairs.
In 2003 there were 69,300 pairs, with the colony - the largest in the North Sea - experiencing rapid growth since a handful of pairs were introduced 50 years ago.
The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, which carried out the research, says changes to the birds' ecosystem and food web were probably behind the drop.
Professor Mike Harris, an emeritus research fellow at the centre, explained "something worrying" had happened to the puffins over the last two winters.
"Puffins appear to be joining the ranks of other seabirds in the North Sea that are suffering reduced breeding success and decline in numbers," he said.
Puffin numbers are easily assessed by counting their burrows, but Prof Harris and his research team found that the occupancy rate had fallen to 70 per cent, with fewer breeding birds returning to land.
"We need to repeat the survey next year to check the unlikely possibility that a large numbers of puffins took a summer off from visiting the island," he added.
"We also need to widen the survey to include other colonies in the North Sea to measure to what extent the puffin population is declining in the area."