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This year looks set to be the worst on record for Kittiwakes nesting at the Bempton Cliffs nature reserve on the Yorkshire coast, the RSPB confirmed today (Friday 30 July 2004). Experts believe that a severe shortage of food is the most likely cause, possibly the result of global warming. The Kittiwakes are having their worst ever breeding season in the nineteen years since monitoring began. They have produced fewer young than in any previous year, apparently because of a severe shortage of food. The Kittiwakes that nest at the internationally important Bempton Cliffs colony feed mainly on sandeels, a small silvery shoaling fish. Recently, however, these fish have become increasingly scarce. The news from Bempton Cliffs is particularly alarming because, like the canary in the coal mine, the fortunes of the Kittiwakes are regarded as an effective measure of the health of the marine environment. The UK Government uses Kittiwakes as an indicator of the state of the sea. Reserve wardens estimate that this year there could be less than one young raised for every four nests. Normally there would be at least one chick raised in every nest. Many other Kittiwakes have abandoned their nesting attempts altogether, while others never even started breeding. The Kittiwakes normally catch sandeels near the surface of the sea but in recent years have apparently been unable to catch sufficient food to feed their chicks. One possible explanation for shortages of sandeels may be that climate change has driven a rise in sea temperatures and affected currents. Scientists believe that this is changing the plankton mix on which the sandeel larvae feed, with the result that many of the small fish are not surviving or growing to full size and are simply not available for seabirds to catch. Trevor Charlton, RSPB Bempton Cliffs warden, said: "This has been an unbelievably bad breeding season for the Kittiwakes on the Yorkshire coast. The nesting Kittiwakes have not only been badly hit by a severe shortage of sandeels again this season, but also by the most unseasonably bad weather that we have seen for many years. It has been a disastrous double blow for our nesting seabirds. "The news from many seabird colonies along the North Sea coast is very gloomy this year, a strong sign that something is seriously wrong. There is an urgent need for more research into the sandeel situation and continued monitoring of seabird populations. If climate change predictions are correct then the situation will get even worse in coming years." Head of Marine Policy at the RSPB, Euan Dunn, added: "We could well be seeing the single biggest change in the North Sea since it was formed 10,000 years ago. Sandeels prop up the marine food web - from cod and mackerel to Kittiwakes. There is a compelling case now for reining in even further the commercial industrial fishery for sandeels, which itself is struggling to find enough fish to catch." The problem is not just confined to Yorkshire, and seabird colonies as far north as Shetland and Orkney are reporting similar problems, with Kittiwakes, terns, auks and skuas all suffering. For further information contact: Trevor Charlton, RSPB Bempton Cliffs reserve: 01262 851533 or David Hirst, RSPB regional information officer: 0191 2126100. Related pagesThe information in this article was believed correct at the time of writing. BirdGuides Ltd accepts no responsibility for errors, or for any consequences of acting on information in the article. The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily shared by BirdGuides Ltd. |
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