Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios

Cliffe, Becky; Ewart, Heather E.; Scantlebury, David M.; Kennedy, Sarah; Avey-Arroyo, Judy; Mindich, Daniel; Wilson, Rory

doi:10.7717/peerj.18168

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Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios

Becky Cliffe, Heather E. Ewart, David M. Scantlebury, Sarah Kennedy, Judy Avey-Arroyo, Daniel Mindich, Rory Wilson

PeerJ, Volume: 12, Start page: e18168

Swansea University Authors: Becky Cliffe, Rory Wilson

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DOI (Published version): 10.7717/peerj.18168

Abstract

Although climate change is predicted to have a substantial effect on the energetic requirements of organisms, the longer-term implications are often unclear. Sloths are limited by the rate at which they can acquire energy and are unable to regulate core body temperature (Tb) to the extent seen in mo...

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Sloths are limited by the rate at which they can acquire energy and are unable to regulate core body temperature (Tb) to the extent seen in most mammals. Therefore, the metabolic impacts of climate change on sloths are expected to be profound. Here we use indirect calorimetry to measure the oxygen consumption (VO2) and Tb of highland and lowland two-fingered sloths (Choloepus hoffmanni) when exposed to a range of different ambient temperatures (Ta) (18 °C –34 °C), and additionally record changes in Tb and posture over several days in response to natural fluctuations in Ta. We use the resultant data to predict the impact of future climate change on the metabolic rate and Tb of the different sloth populations. The metabolic responses of sloths originating from the two sites differed at high Ta’s, with lowland sloths invoking metabolic depression as temperatures rose above their apparent ‘thermally-active zone’ (TAZ), whereas highland sloths showed increased RMR. 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spelling	v2 67753 2024-09-19 Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios dca2912687c9a58c47ffb39aa547369a Becky Cliffe Becky Cliffe true false 017bc6dd155098860945dc6249c4e9bc 0000-0003-3177-0177 Rory Wilson Rory Wilson true false 2024-09-19 BGPS Although climate change is predicted to have a substantial effect on the energetic requirements of organisms, the longer-term implications are often unclear. Sloths are limited by the rate at which they can acquire energy and are unable to regulate core body temperature (Tb) to the extent seen in most mammals. Therefore, the metabolic impacts of climate change on sloths are expected to be profound. Here we use indirect calorimetry to measure the oxygen consumption (VO2) and Tb of highland and lowland two-fingered sloths (Choloepus hoffmanni) when exposed to a range of different ambient temperatures (Ta) (18 °C –34 °C), and additionally record changes in Tb and posture over several days in response to natural fluctuations in Ta. We use the resultant data to predict the impact of future climate change on the metabolic rate and Tb of the different sloth populations. The metabolic responses of sloths originating from the two sites differed at high Ta’s, with lowland sloths invoking metabolic depression as temperatures rose above their apparent ‘thermally-active zone’ (TAZ), whereas highland sloths showed increased RMR. Based on climate change estimates for the year 2100, we predict that high-altitude sloths are likely to experience a substantial increase in metabolic rate which, due to their intrinsic energy processing limitations and restricted geographical plasticity, may make their survival untenable in a warming climate. Journal Article PeerJ 12 e18168 PeerJ 2167-8359 Choloepus hoffmanni, Climate change, Metabolism, Energetics, Conservation, Resting metabolic rate, Sloth 27 9 2024 2024-09-27 10.7717/peerj.18168 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University Other This research was funded by donations to an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign and the Sloth Conservation Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. 2024-10-21T15:13:59.5714209 2024-09-19T19:18:38.9388434 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Becky Cliffe 1 Heather E. Ewart 2 David M. Scantlebury 3 Sarah Kennedy 4 Judy Avey-Arroyo 5 Daniel Mindich 6 Rory Wilson 0000-0003-3177-0177 7 67753__32663__ec1ea2b1e8914aa391ac5d066db12b9e.pdf 67753.VoR.pdf 2024-10-21T15:11:10.0397068 Output 721371 application/pdf Version of Record true Copyright: 2024 Cliffe et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
title	Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios
spellingShingle	Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios Becky Cliffe Rory Wilson
title_short	Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios
title_full	Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios
title_fullStr	Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios
title_full_unstemmed	Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios
title_sort	Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios
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author_id_fullname_str_mv	dca2912687c9a58c47ffb39aa547369a_*_Becky Cliffe 017bc6dd155098860945dc6249c4e9bc_*_Rory Wilson
author	Becky Cliffe Rory Wilson
author2	Becky Cliffe Heather E. Ewart David M. Scantlebury Sarah Kennedy Judy Avey-Arroyo Daniel Mindich Rory Wilson
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container_volume	12
container_start_page	e18168
publishDate	2024
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description	Although climate change is predicted to have a substantial effect on the energetic requirements of organisms, the longer-term implications are often unclear. Sloths are limited by the rate at which they can acquire energy and are unable to regulate core body temperature (Tb) to the extent seen in most mammals. Therefore, the metabolic impacts of climate change on sloths are expected to be profound. Here we use indirect calorimetry to measure the oxygen consumption (VO2) and Tb of highland and lowland two-fingered sloths (Choloepus hoffmanni) when exposed to a range of different ambient temperatures (Ta) (18 °C –34 °C), and additionally record changes in Tb and posture over several days in response to natural fluctuations in Ta. We use the resultant data to predict the impact of future climate change on the metabolic rate and Tb of the different sloth populations. The metabolic responses of sloths originating from the two sites differed at high Ta’s, with lowland sloths invoking metabolic depression as temperatures rose above their apparent ‘thermally-active zone’ (TAZ), whereas highland sloths showed increased RMR. Based on climate change estimates for the year 2100, we predict that high-altitude sloths are likely to experience a substantial increase in metabolic rate which, due to their intrinsic energy processing limitations and restricted geographical plasticity, may make their survival untenable in a warming climate.
published_date	2024-09-27T15:13:57Z
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Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios

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