mistletoe

Positive effects of fragmentation on plant reproduction are uncommon; in a literature review we found significant negative effects on fruit or seed set for 50 plant species, compared to 26 species showing no effect, and only nine affected positively. One of these is the declining New Zealand mistletoe Peraxilla tetrapetala (Loranthaceae), and here we investigate the mechanism of this positive effect. P. tetrapetala requires visits from native bird or bee pollinators to produce fruit.

There are currently many attempts in New Zealand to restore native ecosystem functioning through the intensive control of introduced mammalian predators. One system that is faltering is bird pollination of endemic mistletoes (Peraxilla tetrapetala) by bellbirds (Anthornis melanura), apparently because of stoat (Mustela erminea) predation. We used a paired-catchment experiment in Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides forest at Craigieburn, central South Island, to measure whether stoat control could restore bellbird densities and mistletoe pollination.

This study examined how forest edges influenced leaf and floral herbivory, as well as seed predation, in a native New Zealand mistletoe species, Alepis flavida. Plants growing on forest edges and in forest interior were compared, and effects of plant size and the neighbouring conspecific plant community were also examined. Leaf herbivory by possums was significantly greater on forest edges than in forest interior in a year of high possum damage, but not in a year with low damage levels. Insect leaf herbivory did not differ between forest edges and interior.

This study examined how forest edges, fruit display size, and fruit colour influenced rates of seed dispersal in an endemic, bird-dispersed, New Zealand mistletoe species, Alepis flavida. To examine rates of seed dispersal, fruit removal rates were compared between plants growing on forest edges and in forest interior, and also between two morphs of plants with different coloured fruits. Two aspects of fruit display size were examined: plant size and the neighbourhood of conspecific plants.

To examine the seasonal availability of the major bellbird (Anthornis melanura) food sources in a mountain beech (Nothofagus solandrivar. cliffortioides) forest at Craigieburn, the invertebrate, honeydew, and mistletoe (Peraxilla tetrapetala and Alepis flavida) fruit and nectar resources were sampled over 12 months. The total available food varied 2.6-fold from a low in October (8798 kJ/ha) to a high in December (22,959 kJ/ha) with an annual mean of 15,782 kJ/ha.

The condition of 79 plants of the loranthaceous mistletoe Tupeia antarcticain a podocarp-hardwood forest in the central North Island, New Zealand, was monitored over 4 years during a period of increasing possum density, following previous possum control. Mistletoe comprised 1.2% of total possum diet during the three years following possum control. Incidence of possum browse on mistletoe plants increased from 2.6% of plants when the trap-catch index of possum density was < 3%, to 75.9% of plants when trap-catch rates reached 4.6%.

The Australian brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) has been blamed for the decline of three native New Zealand beech mistletoe species (Alepis flavida, Peraxilla tetrapetala and Peraxilla colensoi, Loranthaceae), but there are few quantitative data on possum effects, and anecdotal evidence is often conflicting. We present results from two monitoring programmes that suggest possum control operations can improve mistletoe health.

This study provides the first quantitative comparison of methods for monitoring herbivory and growth of New Zealand beech mistletoes (Alepis flavida, Peraxilla colensoi and Peraxilla tetrapetala). Four monitoring methods-leaf maps, volume estimates visual estimates of browse and foliage density, and rePeat fixed-point photographs-were used to assess the health of 60 permanently tagged mistletoe plants in four South Island beech forests between February 1997 and February 1998.

Recent work at several central South Island sites has shown that the bird-pollinated mistletoe Peraxilla tetrapetala (Loranthaceae) is extensively pollen-limited. We studied the diet, time-budget, and densities of its principal pollinator, bellbirds (Anthornis melanura, Meliphagidae), at Craigieburn to find out what aspect of bellbird ecology may be limiting pollination.

The dispersal, germination and establishment of the New Zealand Loranthaceae (Alepis flavida, Peraxilla colensoi, P. tetrapetala, Ileostylus micranthus and Tupeia antarctica) were investigated. The most important bird dispersers were tui, bellbirds and silvereyes. These birds appear to provide reasonably good quality dispersal: fruits were swallowed whole and the seeds later defecated in germinable condition; birds tended to visit plants for only 1-2 minutes and eat a few mistletoe fruits each time.