Rising temperatures leave puffins hungry

EDINBURGH, Scotland, June 5 (UPI) -- Scientists said the puffin population in Scotland has fallen 30 percent in the past five years because of rising sea temperatures.

Mike Harris of the Center for Ecology and Hydrology said research on puffin populations on the Isle of May suggests rising sea temperatures are having an impact on the amount of plankton in the water, which means fewer fish for the popular seabirds to eat, the Scotsman newspaper said Wednesday.

"Puffins can probably cope quite well with a change of sea temperature," Harris told the newspaper. "It doesn't affect them directly but just through the food supply."