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Patterns of visitation of the Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) at Amazonian mineral licks

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Abstract

Mineral licks are essential to many species of mammals and birds in the Amazon rainforest, including the Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus). While sloths have been recorded at mineral licks, visitation of the two-toed sloth at mineral licks has not been described in detail. We used camera traps to observe sloth visitation at 53 mineral lick sites and generalized linear mixed-effects model to evaluate patterns in visitation. We recorded a visitation rate of 29.39 visits per 100 camera nights, with a peak activity time of 22.00 h. Our model results suggest that sloth visitation at mineral licks may be related to differential habitat selection based in part on elevation, slope, and distance from rivers and streams. This study describes the largest dataset on sloth visitation at mineral licks to date, provides key natural history information on this cryptic mammal, and contributes to our understanding of the ecological importance of mineral licks.

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Fig. 1

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Upon acceptance of this manuscript, data will be uploaded into the publicly accessible data repository Dryad. The DOI of the data will be included in the final version of the manuscript.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Maijuna people of Sucusari for their eagerness to collaborate. We would like to acknowledge Elizabeth Benson for providing assistance with the fieldwork portion of this project, Explorama Lodges for providing in-kind support, and OnePlanet, Inc. for providing funding and in-kind support. We would like to thank the Morpho Institute for providing in-kind support and organizing data analysts. We would like to thank the Fulbright Association for awarding a U.S. Student Grant to B.M.G. which funded the fieldwork for this research.

Funding

This study was funded by a Fulbright U.S. Student Grant awarded to Brian M. Griffiths.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Sciences, University of St. Andrews, Irvine Building, North Street, St. Andrews, KY16 9AL, UK

    Hannah D. Stewart

  2. Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, 210 South College Ave., Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Erin Tighe

  3. School of Integrative Studies, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA

    Brian M. Griffiths

Authors
  1. Hannah D. Stewart
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  2. Erin Tighe
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  3. Brian M. Griffiths
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Brian M. Griffiths, Hannah D. Stewart, and Erin Tighe. The first draft of the manuscript was written by all authors and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Brian M. Griffiths.

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Stewart, H.D., Tighe, E. & Griffiths, B.M. Patterns of visitation of the Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) at Amazonian mineral licks. Eur J Wildl Res 68, 25 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-022-01573-y

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