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Rebecca Cliffe

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Rebecca Cliffe
Born (1990-05-15) May 15, 1990 (age 34)
Preston, England
EducationBA 2012; PhD 2017; Hon. Sc.D.[1] 2024
Alma materUniversity of Manchester, Swansea University
Occupation(s)zoologist, conservation biologist
SpouseAlex Jones (married 2023-present)
Websitewww.slothconservation.org

Rebecca Cliffe (born May 15, 1990) is a British zoologist, award-winning conservationist,[2] and one of the leading experts on sloth biology and ecology.[3][4] She is the Founder and executive director of The Sloth Conservation Foundation and author of the book Sloths: Life in the Slow Lane.[5][6]

Early years and work

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A three-fingered sloth (Bradypus variegatus) being monitored as part of Dr. Rebecca Cliffe's Sloth Backpack Project.

Cliffe was born in 1990 in Preston, England. Cliffe received her bachelor's degree in Zoology from the University of Manchester. She later went on to obtain a PhD in Bioscience (specializing in sloths) from Swansea University.[7] As part of her PhD research, she conducted the longest recorded study on wild sloth ecology (The Sloth Backpack Project[8]).[9][5]

She has published various studies on the ecology, biology, and physiology of sloths which have provided new insights about these poorly understood species.[10][11][12][13] Due to her in-depth research and first-hand observations in the field she is considered to be an expert on sloths and their behavior.[14][15][16][17]

She was featured in the Discovery Channel series “Meet the Sloths.”[18][19] She also was a part of the documentary "72 Dangerous Animals: Latin America” and featured in Animal Planet's “Too Cute! Baby Sloths.”[20][21]

Recent work

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In 2017, Cliffe founded The Sloth Conservation Foundation a registered non-profit organisation that is dedicated to saving sloths in the wild and has served as executive director since its inception.[22] She continues to publish research on the biology, ecology and physiology of sloths.[23][24][25][26][27] In 2022 she was selected as one of the winners of the prestigious Future For Nature award,[2] and she used the prize money to train the first scat detection dog for sloth population monitoring.[28][29]

In 2023, Cliffe's work with The Sloth Conservation Foundation was featured on NBC's Today show [30] and 60 Minutes.[31] Her story has also been turned into a children's storybook "The Adventures of Dr. Sloth" by award-winning wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas.[32]

On July 25, 2024, Dr. Rebecca Cliffe, was awarded the honorary title of 'Doctor of Science' by Swansea University in Wales,[33] in recognition of her groundbreaking work in research and conservation.

Personal life

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In 2023, Cliffe married wildlife cameraman Alex (Lex) Jones whom she met while filming sloths for Disney's "A Real Bug's Life" series.[34]

References

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  1. ^ Hon. Sc.D.
  2. ^ a b "Rebecca Cliffe". Future For Nature. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  3. ^ Dowling, Stephen. "Why do sloths move so slowly?". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  4. ^ Turner, Robin (2013-10-13). "Welsh 'sloth woman of Costa Rica' enjoys Lara Croft-like existence". walesonline. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  5. ^ a b "Dr Rebecca Cliffe of Penwortham reveals all about working in the jungle in her book Sloths: Life in the Slow Lane". www.lep.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  6. ^ "Wildlife Photographer of the Year: a baby beaver given a fighting chance". www.nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  7. ^ Nicholls, Henry. "The truth about sloths". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  8. ^ Leeming, Jack (2022-07-18). "Slow science: how I'm protecting sloth species". Nature. 607 (7919): 628. doi:10.1038/d41586-022-01963-x. PMID 35851873.
  9. ^ olsone, Eric R. Olson |. "Why Are These Sloths Wearing Tiny Backpacks? | Blog | Nature | PBS". Nature. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  10. ^ Cliffe, Rebecca N.; Haupt, Ryan J.; Avey-Arroyo, Judy A.; Wilson, Rory P. (2015). "Sloths like it hot: ambient temperature modulates food intake in the brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus)". PeerJ. 3: e875. doi:10.7717/peerj.875. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 4389270. PMID 25861559.
  11. ^ Cliffe, Rebecca N.; Avey-Arroyo, Judy A.; Arroyo, Francisco J.; Holton, Mark D.; Wilson, Rory P. (2014-04-30). "Mitigating the squash effect: sloths breathe easily upside down". Biology Letters. 10 (4): 20140172. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0172. PMC 4013704. PMID 24759371.
  12. ^ Ishibashi, Shoko; Cliffe, Rebecca; Amaya, Enrique (2012-12-15). "Highly efficient bi-allelic mutation rates using TALENs in Xenopus tropicalis". Biology Open. 1 (12): 1273–1276. doi:10.1242/bio.20123228. ISSN 2046-6390. PMC 3558749. PMID 23408158.
  13. ^ Cliffe, Rebecca N.; Haupt, Ryan J.; Avey-Arroyo, Judy A.; Wilson, Rory P. (2015-04-02). "Sloths like it hot: ambient temperature modulates food intake in the brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus)". PeerJ. 3: e875. doi:10.7717/peerj.875. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 4389270. PMID 25861559.
  14. ^ Schardt, Hannah. "Spying on Sloths" (PDF). National Wildlife Federation.
  15. ^ Manaster, Joanne. "Lucky Field Researcher Witnesses Birth of Sloth! Happy International Day of the Sloth!". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  16. ^ "Audio: Debunking myths about sloths is crucial to stopping the sloth crisis". Mongabay Environmental News. 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  17. ^ Dominic Rech (3 March 2020). "A rare video captured the heart-stopping moment a sloth gave birth in a tree". CNN. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  18. ^ "Meet The Sloths". Discovery UK. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  19. ^ Galeazzi, Linda (2018-12-12). "Dream Job Alert: Becky Cliffe Is Saving Sloths For A Living". Faze. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  20. ^ The Freaks, retrieved 2020-07-22
  21. ^ "Too Cute! | Watch Full Episodes & More!". Animal Planet. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  22. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Radio 4 in Four - 10 incredible facts about the sloth". BBC. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  23. ^ @NatGeoUK (2018-10-01). "Sloths Act Like Birds and Reptiles in This Bizarre Way". National Geographic. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  24. ^ Solly, Meilan. "Sloths Don't Just Live in Slow-Mo, They Can Put Their Metabolism On Pause". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  25. ^ Olson, Rachel A.; Glenn, Zachary D.; Cliffe, Rebecca N.; Butcher, Michael T. (2018-12-01). "Architectural Properties of Sloth Forelimb Muscles (Pilosa: Bradypodidae)". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 25 (4): 573–588. doi:10.1007/s10914-017-9411-z. ISSN 1573-7055. S2CID 22238582.
  26. ^ Cliffe, Rebecca Naomi; Scantlebury, David Michael; Kennedy, Sarah Jane; Avey-Arroyo, Judy; Mindich, Daniel; Wilson, Rory Paul (2018-09-19). "The metabolic response of the Bradypus sloth to temperature". PeerJ. 6: e5600. doi:10.7717/peerj.5600. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 6151113. PMID 30258712.
  27. ^ Spainhower, Kyle B.; Cliffe, Rebecca N.; Metz, Allan K.; Barkett, Ernest M.; Kiraly, Paije M.; Thomas, Dylan R.; Kennedy, Sarah J.; Avey-Arroyo, Judy A.; Butcher, Michael T. (2018-05-03). "Cheap labor: myosin fiber type expression and enzyme activity in the forelimb musculature of sloths (Pilosa: Xenarthra)". Journal of Applied Physiology. 125 (3): 799–811. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01118.2017. ISSN 8750-7587. PMID 29722617.
  28. ^ "Sloth Population Census with Scat Detection Dogs | SloCo". The Sloth Conservation Foundation. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  29. ^ "Sloth, giant armadillo, and fishing cat conservationists win Future for Nature Award 2022". Mongabay Environmental News. 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  30. ^ "Lazy or just energy-efficient? Get to know everything about sloths". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  31. ^ Alfonsi, Sharyn (2023-12-24). "Sloths turn survival of the fittest upside down | 60 Minutes - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  32. ^ The Adventures of Dr. Sloth: Rebecca Cliffe and Her Quest to Protect Sloths.
  33. ^ Doctor of Science'
  34. ^ "Episode 102 - "Welcome to the Jungle"". Disney Plus Press. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
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