The use of anthropogenic marine debris as a nesting material by brown boobies (Sula leucogaster).

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]