Happy #WorldAlgaeDay! Did you know that blue-green algae can be found in sloth fur? The algae provides sloths with camo and nutrients in exchange for shelter and water.
Sloth hair is long and coarse. Two-toed sloths have deep grooves that run the length of each hair. Three-toed sloths have irregular cracks that increase in number and size with age. A variety of organisms have found their homes in these cracks and grooves.
The green algae most commonly found in sloth fur is Trichophilus welckeri. These images were captured by researchers in 2010 studying why sloths have discolored fur
Two and Three-toed sloths are separate phylogenetic groups and therefore ecologically quite different. Both are folivores and spend most of time on the treetops eating and sleeping. A leaf based diet is tough, so folivores have dramatic adaptions that allow them to survive.
One such adaption is in the three-toed sloth. They live primarily in the treetops, but they go down once a week to defecate. This is energetically costly and risky. Actually it’s the leading cause of their mortality. Until recently, why they did this was unknown.
Turns out, sloths promote the moth life cycle when they defecate on the ground. In turn, these moths will live in the fur and increase the nitrogen levels which allows algae to thrive. Sloths eat the algae-gardens which supplements their limited diet.
3 responses to “Sloth and algae, an unexpected relationship”
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