Multi-Species Canopy Latrines in Costa Rican Cloud Forests: A Mammal Interactions Hub in a Single Tree Species

We report the discovery of arboreal multi-species mammal latrines in montane cloud forests of Costa Rica. We surveyed 169 trees from 29 species. Canopy multi-species latrines were only found in 11 individuals of a single tree species, Ficus tuerckheimii. Camera traps recorded 17 mammal species and a total of 181 visits over 60 days, indicating that some vertebrates frequently visit canopy latrines. Among the most notable visitors was the two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni), a species long documented to descend to the ground exclusively to defecate. Our findings suggest that sloths may also use arboreal latrines, challenging a long-standing assumption in sloth ecology and raising new questions about the drivers of their defecation behavior. As with terrestrial latrines, canopy latrines may also play a role in interspecific communication, provide spatial cues, and affect nutrient dynamics in forest canopies. All these aspects highlight the potentially important role that Ficus tuerckheimii might have in these interaction points.