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

Megan L. Grant, Jennifer L. Lavers, Silke Stuckenbrock, Paul B. Sharp, Alexander L. Bond

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Citations (Scopus)

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.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)96-103
Number of pages7
JournalMarine Pollution Bulletin
Volume137
Early online date11 Oct 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2018

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