The scale insect lives in the bark of beech trees drawing in sap, which it then excretes as honeydew and is an important energy source for tui, bellbirds and kaka.

This is a result of the mammalian predator numbers which increase significantly in years when beech trees seed as this also happens to be the only time when the kaka attempts to breed.

Additionally, the kaka has to compete with wasps and possums for the honeydew produced by the native scale insects within beech forests.

It inhabits rivers within Victoria Forest Park as well as other parts of New Zealand, feeding primarily on aquatic invertebrates.

The main threat to the tomtit is introduced mammals as they make easy prey because they nest in cavities and so are not able to escape from predators [11] The great spotted kiwi is not as widely distributed throughout New Zealand as it once was.

It is thought that the introduction of stoats and possums has caused the great spotted kiwi to migrate to higher altitudes, possibly because these environments are less favourable to introduced predators.

Video surveillance shows stoats and possums entering kiwi nests, but incubating adults are normally able to repel them, however the predators do manage to eat some eggs and possibly damage others.

Mice and stoats are identified as predators of rock wren eggs and young as a result of the birds poor flight ability and ground-feeding habit.

Studies have demonstrated a decline in mistletoe distribution throughout New Zealand, which is likely to be attributed to the brush tail possum, loss of pollinating and dispersing birds and over collecting.

Stoat (Mustela ermine), weasel (M. nivalis) , and ferret (M. furo) were released in the 1880s in an attempt to control rabbits (Orycto-lagus cuniculus).

[16] Victoria Forest Park is predominantly made up of beech forest, which are important conservation reserves for endemic birds, and in the summers following heavy seeding of the beech trees, which occurs every 4–6 years, insect, mouse (Mus musculus), and stoat numbers increase rapidly.

In beech forests, mohua, kaka, robins, bellbirds and blue ducks are all at risk of being predated on by stoats post seed fall irruptions[16][19] Significantly increasing the risk to New Zealand birds is the fact that the majority are hole nesting birds and don’t possess the predator avoidance mechanisms that other introduced species possess and so they are more vulnerable for the following reasons: The introduction to New Zealand of the German wasp (Vespula germanica) and the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) has severely impacted on native New Zealand species.

Wasps compete with the native nectar feeding birds and insects for this sugary secretion, thereby reducing the amount of honeydew that would otherwise be available.

Even though they may be at lesser density in beech forests, possums have been found to severely damage mistletoe and have the potential to threaten these plants with local extinction.

In 1993, GRD Macraes was granted permission for a mine footprint of 107ha and were authorised a pit, tailings dam and a waste rock stack.

[26][27] In a study by Alterio (2000) on the use of 1080 and brodifacoum for controlling rodents such as rats and mice, secondary poisoning of stoats and cats was found to be significant and so this could be an especially useful way of restoring New Zealand mainland ecological communities.