Comparing photography and collection methods to sample litter in seabird nests in a coastal archipelago in the Southwest Atlantic

Abstract

Different methods are used to quantify and classify litter in seabird nests, such as the collection method (CM) and the photography method (PM). We compared the CM and PM in 195 brown booby (Sula leucogaster) nests breeding in a coastal archipelago in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photographs recorded 109 litter items in 44 nests (23% of nests), compared to 416 litter items in 82 nests (42%) by the CM. Pairwise comparison showed a significant difference in the variety and amount of litter items per nest, which was greater for CM (2.1 ± 1.1 categories, 2.13 ± 4.8 items) than for PM (1.5 ± 0.8 categories; 0.56 ± 1.6 items), in addition to a significant difference in the overall litter composition. The CM has been the most often used method to date. Although PM underestimates the amount and frequency of litter, we encourage its use when litter is abundant in nests and for threatened species.