There may also be important conservation lessons, as these results show that populations of native birds must be maintained for effective pollination of Peraxilla species to occur. The mistletoe then gets all its water and mineral nutrients from the host while doing its own photosynthesis with normal leafy branches. Overseas some mistletoes grow so rapidly that the host tree may be damaged, but in New Zealand the native mistletoes are slow growing and seem to do very little damage. In fact our mistletoes may be important members of the ecosystem as nectar and fruit sources for birds. Reasons for this decline include browsing by Australian brushtail possums, which are very fond of mistletoe foliage.
Forest clearance is also a major factor in many parts of the country.
The results of the research at Canterbury show that failure of pollination may also be a factor in mistletoe decline. Reductions in bird density due to predation of bellbirds, tui and stitchbirds by introduced stoats, cats and rats may have reduced levels of seed set in the mistletoes. Alepis flowers open normally without external assistance, so pollen may be transferred by insects, or introduced birds such as the Australian silvereye which is now widespread in New Zealand. In contrast, Peraxilla flowers cannot be visited by insects until the flower is open, and introduced birds have never been recorded opening them. Therefore close attention to preservation of native birds may be necessary for the conservation of the mistletoes.