Rebecca Cliffe
Rebecca Cliffe | |
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Born | |
Education | BA 2012; PhD 2017; Hon. Sc.D.[1] 2024 |
Alma mater | University of Manchester, Swansea University |
Occupation(s) | zoologist, conservation biologist |
Spouse | Alex Jones (married 2023-present) |
Website | www.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
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Sloth_backpack_project.jpg/220px-Sloth_backpack_project.jpg)
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
[edit]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 childrens 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
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ Hon. Sc.D.
- ^ a b "Rebecca Cliffe". Future For Nature. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ Dowling, Stephen. "Why do sloths move so slowly?". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ Turner, Robin (2013-10-13). "Welsh 'sloth woman of Costa Rica' enjoys Lara Croft-like existence". walesonline. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Wildlife Photographer of the Year: a baby beaver given a fighting chance". www.nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ Nicholls, Henry. "The truth about sloths". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ 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.
- ^ olsone, Eric R. Olson |. "Why Are These Sloths Wearing Tiny Backpacks? | Blog | Nature | PBS". Nature. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Schardt, Hannah. "Spying on Sloths" (PDF). National Wildlife Federation.
- ^ Manaster, Joanne. "Lucky Field Researcher Witnesses Birth of Sloth! Happy International Day of the Sloth!". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ "Audio: Debunking myths about sloths is crucial to stopping the sloth crisis". Mongabay Environmental News. 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Meet The Sloths". Discovery UK. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ Galeazzi, Linda (2018-12-12). "Dream Job Alert: Becky Cliffe Is Saving Sloths For A Living". Faze. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ The Freaks, retrieved 2020-07-22
- ^ "Too Cute! | Watch Full Episodes & More!". Animal Planet. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Radio 4 in Four - 10 incredible facts about the sloth". BBC. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ @NatGeoUK (2018-10-01). "Sloths Act Like Birds and Reptiles in This Bizarre Way". National Geographic. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ Solly, Meilan. "Sloths Don't Just Live in Slow-Mo, They Can Put Their Metabolism On Pause". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Sloth Population Census with Scat Detection Dogs | SloCo". The Sloth Conservation Foundation. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ "Sloth, giant armadillo, and fishing cat conservationists win Future for Nature Award 2022". Mongabay Environmental News. 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ "Lazy or just energy-efficient? Get to know everything about sloths". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ Alfonsi, Sharyn (2023-12-24). "Sloths turn survival of the fittest upside down | 60 Minutes - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ The Adventures of Dr. Sloth: Rebecca Cliffe and Her Quest to Protect Sloths.
- ^ Doctor of Science'
- ^ "Episode 102 - "Welcome to the Jungle"". Disney Plus Press. Retrieved 2024-03-12.