Glimpsing the Future Through Washington's Puffins

Some of the largest populations of Tufted Puffins are in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and other northern coastlines. But University of Puget Sound professor Peter Hodum says the smaller colonies that breed off the coast of Washington and Oregon could provide key insights to conserve the whole species. The challenges facing birds at the fringes of their range could be the same ones that will affect the core populations further north in the future.

BirdNote^®
Glimpsing the Future Through Washington's Puffins
Written by Conor Gearin

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[Ambi: crashing surf]

When Peter Hodum learned that few people were studying the Tufted Puffin in the Pacific Northwest, he began delving into what was known about the local puffin population.

Peter Hodum: And so, when we realized that even with the minimal information available, that the species was declining worryingly, we needed to almost start from the beginning.

[Tufted Puffin calls, ML3863]

Peter, who’s a professor at the University of Puget Sound, says that while the biggest Tufted Puffin populations are further north, in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, it’s important to study the smaller number that breed off the coast of Washington and Oregon. One reason: the challenges facing the species at the fringes of where they live could be the same ones that will affect the core populations further north in the future.

Peter Hodum: They first start to show signs of decline on the periphery. It frequently signals a more fundamental problem affecting the species, and that first manifests itself on the peripheries, where those populations have less of a buffer. They can't accommodate challenges as well because conditions aren't as favorable as they are in the core of their range. So we're seeing parallels to what we see in the Pacific Northwest here over in Japan and Russia, and even in parts of Alaska.

And picking up these kinds of early warning signals could help biologists plan for a better future for Tufted Puffins.

[Tufted Puffin calls, ML3863]

For BirdNote, I’m Ariana Remmel.

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Narrator: Ariana Remmel

ID# HodumP-01-2025-03-03 HodumP-01

Reference:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Puffin/overview
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/tufpuf/cur/introduction