Tufted Puffins as biological indicators of forage fish availability in the Gulf of Alaska: assessing diets using stable isotopes and fatty acid signature analysis, NPRB Project 0413, 2004 - 2007

These data are part of a study detailed in Williams and Buck (2007) NPRB Final Report 413.
Between May, 2003 and September, 2005 we captured 285 Tufted Puffins at a breeding colony on Chiniak Island (lat, long) in Chiniak Bay,
Kodiak Island, Alaska, USA. Data were collected to evaluate the utility of using indirect measures of tufted puffin diets (stable isotopes
and fatty acid signatures) as indicators of marine prey availability. We collected adipose tissue biopsies from the puffins to analyze for
FAs and whole blood samples to analyze for nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes. All birds were captured at the breeding colony but it was
rarely possible to determine breeding status. Because effects of nutritional status on physiological processes may confound information on
diets furnished by stable isotope and fatty acid signature analyses, we also determined the effects of a ~50% reduction in food intake on
(delta)15N and (delta)13C values in whole blood and fatty acid signatures of adipose tissue in growing tufted puffins. Beginning at age
10days, tufted puffins were fed a diet of either 120g/day (control group; 650 kJ/day, n=6) or 60g/day (experimental group; 325 kJ/day, n=7)
of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) plus a multivitamin supplement. Blood and adipose tissue samples were collected and nestlings were weighed
(± 2g) prior to feeding at ages 10, 19, 28, and 37 days. These datasets were archived as part of the North Pacific Research Board legacy project recovery effort undertaken by Axiom Data Science and NPRB in 2025. The goal of the recovery effort was to assess the NPRB-funded data projects from 2002 to 2014 and archive final data packages that were ready for publication to increase long-term accessibility and discoverability. Data packages were archived as is given limited funding and resources.