Abstract
Introduction: Sloths are arboreal mammals that defecate on the ground, increasing the risk of predation. There are several hypotheses that try to explain why they undergo this risk. Objective: To critically review all the hypotheses and to propose a new hypothesis that is compatible with all known data. Methods: I verified the assumptions and implications of five hypotheses against the literature available February, 2021. Results: Previous hypotheses either lack reliable supporting data, or are contradicted by published data. Here I propose that defecation on the ground is an ancestral behavior that persists in all sloth species because there has not been enough natural selection against it. Conclusions: Current knowledge of sloth biology is compatible with the hypothesis that there has not been enough selective pressure for sloths to abandon defecation on the ground.
Highlights
Sloths are arboreal mammals that defecate on the ground, increasing the risk of predation
Five hypotheses have been proposed to explain this behavior: to fertilize trees, because feces are deposited at the tree base (Montgomery & Sunquist, 1975); to avoid predation, by covering the feces and reducing smells, as occurs in some other mammals; to communicate with chemical messages because direct interactions among individuals are rare, as implied by Chiarello (2008); to pick trace nutrients from the ground when they lick mud from their claws, as observed by Voirin, Kays, Wikelski, & Lowman (2013); and to increase moth populations, a mutualistic model (Voirin et al, 2013) for which Pauli et al (2014) published some experimental support
The current version of the mutualistic model states that sloths of the species B. variegatus lick and digest algae from their hair to obtain nutrients (algae might be fertilized by UNED Research Journal (e-ISSN 1659-441X), Vol 13(1): e3438, June, 2021 sloth fur moths, Voirin et al, 2013; Pauli et al, 2014)
Summary
Sloths are arboreal mammals that defecate on the ground, increasing the risk of predation. Introducción: Varias hipótesis intentan explicar por qué los perezosos, siendo mamíferos arbóreos, defecan en el suelo, aumentando el riesgo de depredación.
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