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Abstract
Hawaiian Tetragnatha spiders inhabiting small forest fragments on the Big Island of
Hawaii are parasitized by mermithid nematodes. This is the first report of mermithid
nematodes infecting spiders in Hawaii, and an initial attempt to characterize this
host-parasite interaction. Because immature mermithids were not morphologically identifiable,
a molecular identification was performed. A phylogenetic analysis based on 18S small
ribosomal subunit nuclear gene sequences suggested that Hawaiian spider mermithids
are more closely related to a mainland presumptive Aranimemis species that infects
spiders, than to an insect-infecting mermithid collected on Oahu, HI, or to Mermis
nigrescens, also a parasite of insects. Measured infection prevalence was low (ranging
from 0 to 4%) but differed significantly among forest fragments. Infection prevalence
was associated significantly with fragment area, but not with spider density nor spider
species richness. Results suggest that mermithid populations are sensitive to habitat
fragmentation, but that changes in infection prevalence do not appear to affect spider
community structure.