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Scientists studying the Atlantic puffin population off the coast of Maine say the birds are now recovering after suffering major losses in 2021.↳ Atlantic puffins look and walk similarly to penguins. Wildlife officials say reproductions for the animals on islands off the coast of Maine fell sharply in 2021. But last year, about two-thirds of puffins in the area produced young. While the numbers did not reach that same level this year, the birds still had a better year than in 2021. The main reason for the decreasing numbers is a drop in the population of small fish puffins feed on, such as herring. Two years ago, puffin colonies suffered one of the lowest reproduction rates in many years because of a lack of those fish. Only about one-quarter of the birds were able to raise young in 2021.

研究缅因州沿海大西洋海鹦种群的科学家表示，这些鸟类在 2021 年遭受重大损失后目前正在恢复中。 大西洋海鹦的外观和行走方式与企鹅相似。野生动物官员表示，2021 年，缅因州沿海岛屿上的海雀繁殖量急剧下降。但去年，该地区约三分之二的海雀产下了幼崽。虽然今年的数字没有达到同样的水平，但这些鸽子的表现仍然比 2021 年更好。 数量减少的主要原因是海雀以鲱鱼等小鱼为食的数量减少。两年前，由于缺乏这些鱼类，海雀群落的繁殖率达到了多年来最低的水平之一。到 2021 年，只有大约四分之一的鸟类能够抚养幼鸟。

Environmental groups have linked the lower fish populations in the area to warming ocean temperatures. The Gulf of Maine, which has puffin colonies on its islands, is warming faster than most of the world's oceans. Some recent years have been especially warm and local climate officials have said this summer appears to have been “still unusually warm.” Bill Sydeman is the president and chief scientist at the Farallon Institute, a conservation organization based in California. He told The Associated Press the reasons for the puffin population drop include deadly heat waves, loss of food, loss of islands to sea level rise and an inability to reproduce, or breed. “The problem with climate change is these breeding failures and low breeding productivity years are now becoming chronic,” Sydeman said. “There will be fewer young birds in the population that are able to recruit into the breeding population.”

环保组织将该地区鱼类数量减少与海洋温度升高联系起来。缅因湾的岛屿上有海雀栖息地，其变暖速度比世界上大多数海洋都要快。近年来，天气特别温暖，当地气候官员表示，今年夏天似乎“仍然异常温暖”。比尔·赛德曼 (Bill Sydeman) 是法拉隆研究所 (Farallon Institute) 的主席兼首席科学家，法拉隆研究所是一家位于加利福尼亚州的保护组织。他告诉美联社，海雀数量下降的原因包括致命的热浪、食物损失、海平面上升导致的岛屿消失以及无法繁殖或繁殖。西德曼说：“气候变化的问题在于，这些育种失败和育种生产力低下的年份现在已成为长期现象。” “种群中能够招募到繁殖种群的幼鸟将会减少。”

Maine's puffins are the only breeding Atlantic puffins in the United States. Worldwide, the species lives in the North Atlantic from Maine and Canada to Europe. Other countries with large puffin populations, such as Iceland, have also seen their bird populations drop. The Maine puffin population once fell to only about 70 pairs in an area known as Matinicus Rock. Hunters who went after the birds for their meat and feathers had nearly destroyed them by the early 1900s. Stephen Kress is a scientist with the Audubon Society who has sought to grow puffin colonies since the 1970s. His attempts included moving young puffins from Canada to Eastern Egg Rock, another small island in the area.

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