In this project we are using three components of Tufted Puffin foraging ecology to provide some insights into the health of forage fish communities in Alaska: i) chick diet composition, ii) chick body condition, and iii) the at-sea density of foraging adults around selected colonies. These parameters show strong connections with food resources in the environment, a quality that is desirable when using seabirds as indicators. Tufted Puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) are an ideal study subject because they are colonial piscivores with broad diets that appear to consume the most abundant and available prey near colonies.
