Researchers are calling for native leafy mistletoes to be protected, as they are a haven for invertebrates in winter.
James Crofts-Bennett
A study led by the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka found native mistletoes on introduced deciduous trees acts as an invertebrate refuge during the colder months because they are evergreen.
Lead author James Crofts-Bennett, a PhD candidate in the Department of Botany, says native invertebrates, like arthropods, are more likely to survive in urban and suburban habitats if mistletoe is present.
"Arthropods – which include hexapods, chelicerates, crustaceans and myriapods – make up the vast majority of animal species. Heck, all species in general," Mr Crofts-Bennett says.
"They provide a vast array of ecosystem functions and are crucial to maintaining the world as a whole. The classic example is bee pollination, but moths, flies, beetles and even some arachnids can be important pollinators. Likewise, Oribatid mites are crucial to forest soil cycling, similar to earthworms in agricultural systems.
"All these animals were found in mistletoes we examined."
Mistletoes are semi-parasitic plants found throughout New Zealand.
Recently published in the journal New Zealand Entomologist, researchers collected foliage samples of 19 host trees and 19 mistletoes living on them from a mix of rural and suburban areas in summer and winter in the greater Dunedin area.
