The Tufted Puffin breeds primarily in Alaska, but tens of thousands breed at colonies along the coast of British Columbia. Surveys at the largest colony in Canada indicate that the population’s abundance has remained relatively unchanged since monitoring began in the 1980s, though there are conservation concerns for the colonies located in the southern portion of the species’ breeding range in the California Current (Hart et al. 2018). Like many other Pacific seabirds, breeding success of Tufted Puffins is influenced by variable conditions in the marine environment and has at times been heavily influenced by predation from introduced mammalian predators. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
Mortality from entanglement in drift-nets used in high-seas fisheries was once severe in some portions of the Tufted Puffin’s range (DeGange et al. 1993, Piatt and Kitaysky 2002), but other threats such as introduced predators are currently of greater concern in Canada. Rats enter burrows and depredate puffin nests, while larger mammalian predators such as red and arctic foxes kill many adults in northern portions of the species’ range. Control programs for these and other introduced predators are ongoing at some nesting islands in British Columbia. Like other Pacific auks, breeding success of Tufted Puffins is related to conditions in the marine environment that influence the abundance of and access to prey (Gjerdrum et al. 2003), especially small fish such as Pacific Sandlance (Ammodytes hexapterus). Climate change is also a concern for the species; changes in sea-surface temperatures and their impacts on puffin prey, especially within the southern breeding range, have likely led to ongoing puffin declines there (Hart et al. 2018).
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.
