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Aimee Fraser, Christina Petalas, Raphaël Lavoie, Kyle Elliott
Investigating Atlantic Puffin Chick Provisioning over the Breeding Period Using Trail Cameras
As with many seabird species, certain colonies of Atlantic puffin face population declines. In some cases, these declines are caused by insufficient prey for chicks. Consequently, we can help protect this species by understanding when and how parents struggle the most to feed their chicks. This project aims to uncover two aspects of puffin feeding ecology: first, how the energy content of prey loads change as the breeding season progresses, and second, if adult puffins follow the optimal foraging theory where they travel to more distant foraging sites with less competition for more energic prey loads. To investigate this, we will use data from trail cameras to quantify prey loads, combined with GPS data of foraging trips. Ultimately, we hope to learn more about the factors that influence the prey chicks receive to help future research and inform conservation decisions.
