The fish strain is one of the puffins’ favourites. In both 2019 and 2022, there have been huge amounts of this species in the sea. – It can be compared to leprosy. The strain has a short life, but produces many offspring. In between, there will be very good cohorts. But it is unusual for two good silt years to come so close to each other, says researcher Nils Roar Hareide at Runde Forsking. Important food for puffins In the last 20 years, there has been little silting along the coast. 1992 was a peak year, and then, as far as researchers know, you have to go back to 1966 to find an equivalent. – Sill is a key species because it is the link between zooplankton and the rest of the food chain, says Nils-Roar Hareide. Photo: Christoph Noever / Runde Forsking Sieves are important food for many species of fish, and are very important food for many seabirds, especially for the highly endangered puffin. The puffins are out at sea most of their lives, but every year they return to land to breed. – The good access to food means that the puffin spends less time gathering food. In this way, the young birds get food more often, and there is a higher breeding success. Several of the children survive, says Hareide. Sills in large numbers along the Norwegian coast. Photo: Runde Forsking – Not in the right place at the right time Counts of puffins on the island of Runde in Sunnmøre show that there are only between 25,000 and 30,000 pairs of puffins left. At most there were around 100,000 pairs of puffins on the bird island. Puffin Photo: Ingar Støyle Bringsvor Puffin (Fratercula arctica), also known as sea parrot or puffin, belongs to the auks. It stands out with its colorful beak, which turns bright orange during the breeding season. It also has yellow-red stripes on the back and is dark brown towards the head. A mature puffin is between 28 and 35 cm long, and has a wingspan of 50–60 cm. The habitat of this auk is primarily in the North Atlantic, there are also populations in the North Sea, into the Barents Sea and in the Arctic Ocean. Nesting takes place both on the mainland and on islands. The puffin nests in colonies. The breeding season is from April to August, the rest of the year the birds live at sea. In Norway, the puffin nests in Western Norway, but the large colonies are found from Lofoten and northwards. In the fowlfjell, the woodpecker builds its nest in tunnels that it digs itself, or in holes in the ground or small holes in rock formations and in crevices in the rock. Females lay eggs in May–June, and both parents incubate them. Ingar Støyle Bringsvor is a bird observer and has been involved in fieldwork on bird island since 2009. He says that the reason for the decline is complex, but that food plays a big role. – The food has not been in the right place at the right time, says Bringsvor. According to the Artsdatabanken, the puffin population at Runde declined by around 50 per cent in the period 1980–2019. Photo: Svein-Håkon Lorentsen / Privat The food plate is governed by climate variations that are common in our latitudes, but also climate change. Photo: Jannicke Farstad / news Silt is important food for many species of fish, and is very important food for many seabirds, especially for the highly endangered puffin species. Photo: Ingar Støyle Bringsvor Lunden has a characteristic beak, and is also called a sea parrot. Nearly two-thirds of the seabird species are red-listed. Lack of food is cited as one of the reasons why nearly two-thirds of the seabird species in the Norwegian areas are red-listed. A total of 34 seabird species are red-listed in Norway and on Svalbard, according to the Norwegian Institute for Natural Research (Nina). The dinner plate is governed by climate variations that are common in our latitudes, but also climate change. – Researchers all over the world wonder if the seabirds can’t stand a warmer climate, if the bird’s food can’t stand it, or if it’s the food for the food that can’t stand the heat, says Hareide. But the seabirds are also affected by other factors, such as land acquisition, fisheries and pollution. Is optimistic But the good siling years have produced positive results for the puffin on Runde. According to Bringsvor, this has, among other things, led to baby birds leaving the nest and going out to sea already before 10 July. Usually this happens at the turn of July/August. – As far as I know, it has never been registered at Runde before, says Bringsvor enthusiastically. Although there have been a lot of puffins at Runde in the last two years, the nesting has still not led to so many chicks. – There are a lot of young birds to establish themselves. It will take a few years before they get it right and have cubs for the first time. Bird watcher Ingar Støyle Bringsvor holds a baby puffin. Unfortunately, there haven’t been that many of them in the last two years. Photo: Arild Hareide – What do you think about the future? – If activity and access to food continue, the population must increase. I can’t understand anything else. To do research on silt Why the coast is boiling with silt now, the researchers do not know for sure. – Herring, or sole, is fished commercially in the North Sea, but can be found along the entire Norwegian coast. It has not been researched here, so little is known about the fish, which is very important for the puffin and several other seabirds. We are now trying to find out where it lives, spawns, how much of it there is and follow the different year classes throughout their lifetime, says Hareide. Sieves swirl up from the sand when the researchers drag a tool along the seabed at Runde on Sunnmøre. Fishermen on Sunnmøre say that they have never seen so many sieves before. Photo: Runde Forsking
ttn-69
Flourishing of the fish strain can save the puffin on Runde på Sunnmøre – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
