In the effort to preserve our planet’s natural resources, societies all over the world have promoted the idea of “going green.” For some, this may mean carpooling to work or using re-usable, cloth grocery bags, but for tree shrews, “going green” has a more literal connotation.

According to research from the University of Cambridge in England, pitcher plants serve as toilets for these small mammals. Although most pitcher plants are carnivores, Nepenthes lowii pitcher plants actually use feces from the shrew as a source of nitrogen.

The research team installed video cameras that recorded the activities around a number of the pitcher plants located in a forest on the island of Bornea in Southeast Asia. Surprisingly, researchers discovered that the immature pitcher plants grow near the ground and trap insects for food, but the mature aerial plants act as a vine-mounted toilet for the tree shrews, as the plant feeds off feces instead of insects.

How does this work? The tree shrew actually jumps onto the plant to lick the underside of the leaf that sits on top of the plants opening (the pitcher), and while licking nectar, the shrew will defecate into the pitcher (or pot) of the plant.

Further observations show that this species of pitcher plants have actually adapted into the “perfect powder room.” Instead of the rim of the pitcher being slippery, like many other pitcher plant species, N. lowii has modified its rim to allow the shrew not to slip while eating and defecating. Also, the shape of the pitcher plant’s opening and the position of the lid coated with nectar makes certain that the tree shrew will position his/her rear end directly over the pitcher while eating.

Although acting as the forest’s community bathroom may not seem like a pleasant job, pitcher plants of mountainous environments actually benefit greatly because of the scarcity of insect prey in the area. The research team showed that these pitcher plants get between 57 to 100 percent of their nutrients from tree shrews that have opted to, “go green.”

Discussion Question: If more insects were available in these mountainous regions, do you think that mature aerial pitcher plants would adapt to using insects as a nutrient source instead of feces? Why or why not?

Link to Article: http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/090623-tree-shrew-lavatory.html

Link to Abstract: http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/5/5/632.abstract