Sloths like it hot: ambient temperature modulates food intake in the brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus).

ABSTRACT: Sloths are considered to have one of the lowest mass-specific metabolic rates of any mammal and, in tandem with a slow digestive rate, have been theorized to have correspondingly low rates of ingestion. Here, we show in a study conducted over five months, that three captive Bradypus variegatus (Brown-throated sloths) had a remarkably low mean food intake of 17 g kg(-1)day(-1) (SD 4.2). Food consumption was significantly affected by ambient temperature, with increased intake at higher temperatures. We suggest that the known fluctuation of sloth core body temperature with ambient temperature affects the rate at which gut fauna process digesta, allowing for increased rates of fermentation at higher temperatures. Since Bradypus sloths maintain a constantly full stomach, faster rates of ferment

SUBMITTER: Cliffe RN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4389270 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature