Incidence of plastic debris in Sooty Tern nests: A preliminary study on Trindade Island, a remote area of Brazil

Plastic is abundant in the oceans, reaching pelagic zones away from continents. Here we present the first recordings of plastic used as nest material in Sooty Tern nests, on a remote oceanic island. We describe our findings in terms of quantity, size and color of plastic debris. A total of 78 plastics were noted in 54 nests. Four color categories were found: Blue, White, Green and Red. Blue fragments were the most frequent color, present three times as much as white debris. This pattern was present despite blue fragments being smaller and lighter. The plastic debris of lowest frequency were the larger and heavier pieces (red). To our knowledge this is the first record of plastic in Sooty Tern nests. Trindade Island is on an oceanic zone expected to accumulate garbage due to the dynamic ocean currents. Such findings call for a closer inspection of pollution in the Atlantic Ocean. •Plastic is a main threat for marine organisms.•Seabirds are known for ingest plastic or take plastic as nesting material.•We registered nests of Sooty Terns in a tropical pelagic island with plastic debris.•Data and inspection of plastic pollution on such remote areas deserve more attention.