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Abstract Marine debris is pervasive worldwide, and affects biota negatively. We compared the characteristics of debris incorporated within brown booby (Sula leucogaster) nests throughout their pantropical distribution by assessing the type, colour and mass of debris items within nests and in beach transects at 18 sites, to determine if nests are indicators of the amount of debris in local marine environments. Debris was present in 14.4% of nests surveyed, with the proportion of nests with debris varying among sites (range: 0–100%). There was minimal overlap between the type or colour of debris found in nests and on adjacent beaches at individual sites. This suggests that brown boobies do not select debris uniformly across their distribution. We propose that the nests of brown boobies can be used as a sentinel of marine debris pollution of their local environment. Highlights • Brown boobies are sentinels of beach washed debris specific to their location. • Plastic accounted for 90.1% of all debris items recorded within nests. • Brown boobies will opportunistically incorporate debris when available. • Nests near shipwrecks have large quantities of debris from those wrecks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many seabirds are impacted by marine debris through its presence in foraging and nesting areas. To determine the extent of this problem, marine debris use in nest material of the brown booby ( Sula leucogaster ) in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, was investigated. Nine cays were examined using beach and nest surveys. On average, four marine debris items were found per nest ( n = 96) with 58.3% of surveyed nests containing marine debris. The source of marine debris in nests and transects were primarily oceanic. Hard plastic items dominated both nest (56.8%) and surveyed beaches (72.8%), however only two item types were significantly correlated between these surveys. Nest surveys indicated higher levels of black and green items compared to beach transects. This selectivity for colours and items suggest these nests are not good indicators of environmental loads. This is the first study to examine S. leucogaster nests for marine debris in this location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungi are important compartments of microbial communities of mangroves. Their diversity might be influenced by their habitat environment. This study analyzed the distribution and function of fungal communities in the sediments and plant samples from mangrove ecosystem of the Maowei Sea area in Guangxi, China. The results showed that phytopathogenic fungi Cladosporium (17.00%) was mainly observed in the sediments from the protected zone, while endophytic fungi Alternaria (9.22%) and Acremonium (6.09%) were only observed in the sediments from wharf. The fungi in the sediments from village and park were mainly consisted of high-activity endophytes and fungi related to lignin-degrading, respectively. Acaulospora and Aspergillus with higher relative abundance discovered in plant tissues could help plant growth. Cirrenalia (37.66%) and Lignincola (26.73%) with high-activity for lignin-degrading were discovered in decayed leaves. The distribution and function of fungi were highly dependent on the environment settings, thus the fungi can be used as indicators for monitoring the environmental change of mangrove ecosystems. • The distribution and functions of fungi were dependent on the environment. • Fungi can be used as indicators for monitoring the change of mangrove ecosystems. • Fungal diversity and richness were reduced with enhanced human activity. • Fungi are vital for the long-term sustainability of mangrove ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike records of plastic ingestion and entanglement in seabirds which date back to the 1960s, the literature regarding debris in bird nests is comparatively limited. It is important to identify standardised methods early so that data are collected in a consistent manner, ensuring that future studies can be comparable. Here, we outline a method that can be applied to photographs for estimating the proportion of visible debris at the surface of a nest. This method uses ImageJ software to superimpose a grid onto a photograph of a nest/s. The number of cells with and without debris are then counted. Our proposed method is repeatable, straightforward, and accessible. We optimised the method to estimate the level of visible debris in Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) nests, however, with some modification (i.e., adjustment of grid cell size), it could be applied to other seabird species, and terrestrial birds, that incorporate debris within nests. [Display omitted] • New method for estimating the proportion of debris in bird nests from photographs • Method is standardised, repeatable, and accessible. • Lends itself to community science, as photographs of colonies can be crowd-sourced. • Trends in pollution can be assessed if method is used in future nest monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]