<I>Alepis flavida</I>

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 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.

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.

Browsing by introduced brushtail possums is linked to major declines in mistletoe abundance in New Zealand, yet in some areas mistletoes persist, apparently unaffected by the presence of possums. To determine the cause of this spatial variation in impact I investigated the abundance and condition (crown dieback and extent of possum browse) of two mistletoes (Alepis flavida, Peraxilla tetrapetala) and abundance and diet of possums in two mountain beech (Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides) forests in the central-eastern South Island of New Zealand.