Trying to count sloths in a rainforest is quite hard: they move slowly, blend perfectly with the leaves, and spend their days tucked high in the canopy. But now, technology is giving conservationists and researchers a powerful new ally: drones that can see heat.

Vanderhoeven, E.A., Florida, M., Cliffe, R.N., Guzmán, J., Notarnicola, J. and Kartzinel, T.R., 2025. Host specificity of gastrointestinal parasites in free-ranging sloths from Costa Rica. PeerJ, 13, p.e19408.

Cliffe, R.N., Ewart, H.E., Scantlebury, D.M., Kennedy, S., Avey-Arroyo, J., Mindich, D. and Wilson, R.P., 2024. Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios. PeerJ, 12, p.e18168.

Cliffe, R.N., Haupt, R.J., Kennedy, S., Felton, C., Williams, H.J., Avey-Arroyo, J. and Wilson, R., 2023. The behaviour and activity budgets of two sympatric sloths; Bradypus variegatus and Choloepus hoffmanni. PeerJ, 11, p.e15430.

Cliffe, R.N., Robinson, C.V., Whittaker, B.A., Kennedy, S.J., Avey‐Arroyo, J.A., Consuegra, S. and Wilson, R.P., 2020. Genetic divergence and evidence of human‐mediated translocation of two‐fingered sloths (Choloepus hoffmanni) in Costa Rica. Evolutionary Applications, 13(9), pp.2439-2448.

Cliffe, R.N. and Haupt, R.J., 2018. Hanging out for a drink. Frontiers in Ecology & the Environment, 16(8).

Cliffe, R.N., Scantlebury, D.M., Kennedy, S.J., Avey-Arroyo, J., Mindich, D. and Wilson, R.P., 2018. The metabolic response of the Bradypus sloth to temperature. PeerJ, 6, p.e5600.

Cliffe, R.N., Haupt, R.J., Avey-Arroyo, J.A. and Wilson, R.P., 2015. Sloths like it hot: ambient temperature modulates food intake in the brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus). PeerJ, 3, p.e875.

Cliffe, R.N., Avey-Arroyo, J.A., Arroyo, F.J., Holton, M.D. and Wilson, R.P., 2014. Mitigating the squash effect: sloths breathe easily upside down. Biology Letters, 10(4), p.20140172.