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Wise & Reillo — Enoplognatha 
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Massachusetts differ in the proportion of the ovata phenotype. The 
three populations from the Huyck Preserve were quite similar; they 
all lacked the ovata morph and had similar frequencies of redimita. 
Populations from the forest in Syracuse, New York also lacked 
ovata and did not differ significantly in the proportion of redimita 
(chi-square = 6.0, p > .4, df = 6, 2X7 contingency table). This 
constancy likely reflected both the continuity of the habitat and the 
proximity of the local “populations” to one another. Each group 
that was defined as a population was no more than 50 m from 
another, with continuous vegetation also inhabited by E. ovata 
existing between them. Unlike the local populations in the other 
three regions, those in the central New York site were not physically 
separate aggregations. 
These preliminary observations of morph frequencies in E. ovata 
populations in eastern North America suggest that patterns similar 
to those in Europe will be uncovered if more areas are sampled. In 
the region most extensively researched, Mt. Desert Island, signifi- 
cant differences in morph frequencies occurred among local popula- 
tions. European workers have reported similar differences (Oxford 
1976, Hippa and Oksala 1979). Morph frequencies also differed 
between widely separated regions. This preliminary evidence is insuf- 
ficient to judge whether North American E. ovata exhibits a morph- 
ratio cline similar to that found in Europe by Hippa and Oksala 
(1979), but the absence of the ovata morph from both regions in 
New York is striking. A more detailed examination of E. ovata 
populations along latitudinal and longitudinal gradients in North 
America might uncover a consistent pattern of variation. 
Apparently E. ovata is a relatively recent arrival to North Amer- 
ica (Levi 1957). Our initial studies indicate that morph-frequency 
patterns in North America may be equally as intriguing as those 
already documented in Europe. More detailed examination of the 
pattern in a recently colonized area could provide comparative data 
useful to understanding the evolutionary forces responsible for the 
patterns of variation in morph frequencies occurring on both 
continents. 
Summary 
The spider Enoplognatha ovata exhibits a conspicuous color 
polymorphism characterized by three morphs: lineata (yellow 
abdomen with no stripes), redimita (two dorso-lateral red stripes on 
