Use of anthropogenic debris as nesting materials in a south-Mediterranean yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) breeding colony in relation to their environmental availability.

The use of plastics and other anthropogenic debris (AD) as nesting materials by the yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis (YLG) has been previously reported in different north Mediterranean and Atlantic breeding colonies. This behavior is also suspected to widely occur in south-Mediterranean areas, and possibly to a greater extent because of high AD availability related to inefficient waste management systems, but data are lacking. The aim of our study was therefore to investigate AD incorporation into YLG nests in a southern Tunisian breeding colony and determine to what degree this integration was associated with debris availability in the environment.