THE TUFTED PUFFINA report by Chait Sayani

Name and Habitat

Scientific name: Fratercula Cirrhata Found in the coastal habitats near

the Washington coast Also seen in the northern pacific Hunt on coastlines but nest on small

islands

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Order: Charadriiformes Family: Alcidae Genus: Fratercula Species:Cirrhata

Life cycle (Part 1)

A baby chick is born in a small underground burrow

The parents feed the chick for 2 months as it grows

At 2 months of age the chick becomes independent

It then joins a flock with its parents

Life Cycle (Part 2)

At 3-5 years the puffin becomes mature and eligible to mate

Tufted puffins mate for life and nest on small uninhabited islands in the northern pacific where they lay eggs

Unlike other birds, both father and mother incubate the egg

After 6 weeks the chick is born, and the cycle starts again

Behavior and Role

Tufted puffins breed on isolated islands

Their diet is almost exclusively fish Preyed upon by snowy Owls,

Peregrine Falcon and Bald eagles They are also highly social It is a 2nd order heterotroph (A.K.A carnivores)

Elements of Ecosystem

Coastal Biotic Coastal Abiotic

Mussels Barnacles Seaweed Fish Red Algae Cyanobacteria

Salt Spray from ocean Rocky Shores The Boundary Layer-

the meeting of the land and water where mussels and algea thrive.

Interesting information

Did you know that the tufted puffins can dive up to 60 meters deep, and that they can hold their breath for 2 minutes?

Bibliography

http://images.mediastorehouse.net/249/1613289_450_450_0_0_fit_6_e134a0dbae8207b3d251562b5887a03d.jpg

http://www.seabirdyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Tufted-Puffin1.jpg

http://www.animaldiversity.ummz.umlch.edu/accounts/Fratercula_cirrhata

Http://www.seaworld.org/aninmal-info/animal-bytes/animalia/cumetazora/coelmates/deutostomes/chordata/craniata/charadriiformes/tuftedpuffin.htm

http://naturemappingfoundation.org/natmap/feets/tufted_712.html

A-z animals.com

Php.radford.edu