Ecology

Pygmy three-toed sloths are endemic to one island; Isla de Veraguas, off of the coast of Panama. They live and feed in the mangroves on the island, and only come together to mate- using loud calls.

B. Pygmaeus live in the mangrove trees on the island. Mangroves are groups of trees and shrubs that live in coastal intertidal areas. All of these trees grow in low oxygen soil, where the slow moving waters allow for sediment and nutrients to accumulate. The mangrove biome is unique in that mangroves help stabalize the coastline, protect water quality, and help reduce coastal flooding. Mangroves are also unique because they interact with a variety of ecosystems, and provide environmental benefits.

Lifespan 20-30 years. Due to being endemic to an island the pygmy three toed sloth does not face many predators; there are small birds, reptiles, and small mammals that reside on the island, but do not pose a threat to sloths. The largest threat is human interference; more humans are visiting the island each year, hunting, or trying to export these sloths.

Due to there being no natural predators on the island, B. Pygmaeus has different sleep patterns from others sloth species. The Pygmy three-toed sloth will sleep any time and has no preference of night or day. Not only do they have no sleep preference and spend 9-10 hours sleeping, this species of sloth has a deeper REM sleep cycle due there being less stress of being alert for predators.

Keywords: mangrove, biome, ecosystem

References:

NOAA. (n.d.) What is a Mangrove Forest. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/mangroves.html

Voirin, B., Scriba, M., Martinez-Gonzalez, D., Vyssotski, A., Wikelski, M., Rattenborg, N. (2013, September). Ecology and Neurophysiology of Sleep in Two Wild Sloth Species. https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/37/4/753/2416926

Kaviar, S., Shockey, J., Sundberg, P. (2012). Observation on the Endemic Pygmy Three-toed Sloth, Bradypus Pygmaeus of the Isla Escudo de Veraguas, Panama. PLOS one.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0049854

Giacalone, J. (2018, November 27). Sloths. Prism News. https://www.montclair.edu/prism/2018/11/27/sloths/

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