title: Marine debris is selected as nesting material by the brown booby (Sula leucogaster) within the Swain Reefs, Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Central Queensland University, School of Medical and Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 1319, Gladstone, QLD 4680, Australia. Electronic address: k.verlis@cqu.edu.au.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Verlis
authors.affiliation: Central Queensland University, School of Medical and Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 1319, Gladstone, QLD 4680, Australia; School of Science, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand. Electronic address: marnie.campbell@waikato.ac.nz.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Central Queensland University, School of Medical and Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 1319, Gladstone, QLD 4680, Australia. Electronic address: s.wilson@cqu.edu.au.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D001717:Birds; D046091:Charadriiformes; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis; D014866:Waste Products / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010969:Plastics; D014866:Waste Products
keywords: Beach survey; Environmental indicator; Plastic pollution; Seabird; Threat