Dear David, Thanks for posting article with long list of anomalous ecosystem change in the Gulf of Maine. The puffin in Maine is indeed a canary, it is an introduced (and vigorously fostered) species in Maine. Its normal range is Iceland (millions!) with a north American outpost in Canada (tens of thousands at Witless Bay, Newfoundland). An introduced species at the edge of its normal range strikes me as bellwether of longer term trends.
Moving from bells on a wether to longer term trends, here is something to think about - lobsters were once commercially harvested in Virginia. I came within in a trice of rescuing the lobster data recorded by scientist at VIMS (Virginia Insitute of Marine Science). His files were discarded at his death. In my view bells on a wether are useful. On the science side we need evidence, over decades. Best regards, David S. Quoting David Inouye <[email protected]>: > http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/04/gulf-maine-puffin-climate-change > > > > is an interesting article about the changes in the ecology of the > ocean in Maine, and how it's affecting the reintroduced puffin > population (and others). >
