Scientists analyzed Atlantic puffin genes and found they had been interbreeding in recent history. The hybrid group formed when two of three subspecies of Atlantic puffins began mating six generations ago, around 1910, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances. It's important to study the genetic changes happening in puffins right now so we can best plan for how to protect, "such an iconic species," Kersten said. That likely corresponds to the breakup of an ancient glacier over the Arctic, Kersten told Insider. Kersten and his colleagues hypothesize that this happened because climate change made the northern habitat unsuitable for puffins.

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Persons: Annemarie Loof, Oliver Kersten, Kersten, Evie Easterbrook, they're Organizations: Service, puffin, University of Oslo Locations: Atlantic, puffins, Farne, Northumberland, UK, United Kingdom, Norway