Why sloths defecate on the ground: rejection of the mutualistic model
Guardado en:
| Autor: | |
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| Formato: | artículo original |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de Publicación: | 2021 |
| Descripción: | 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. |
| País: | Portal de Revistas UNED |
| Institución: | Universidad Estatal a Distancia |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UNED |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:revistas.investiga.uned.ac.cr:article/3438 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.uned.ac.cr/index.php/cuadernos/article/view/3438 |
| Palabra clave: | Evolution of sloth behavior Natural selection and defecation Algae Mutualism Arboreal mammal evolution Evolución del comportamiento de los perezosos Selección natural y defecación Algas Mutualismo Polillas Evolución de mamíferos arbóreos |