Morphometrics for Nonmorphometricians

Abstract

ForewordThe aim of this new edited volume is to present the various aspects of morphometrics in a way that is accessible to readers who might not be acquainted with the voluminous literature on this topic. Morphometrics is the quantitative study of organismic form. It attempts to quantify, precisely and as completely as practical, the information on size and shape that often is readily apparent to the investigator yet difficult to adequately characterize in numerical terms. Morphometric studies thus provide an initial step in the understanding of patterns of variation among individuals and groups of organisms, and typically form an important groundwork for analyses of structure, function, and evolution. As such, morphometrics has become central to the biological sciences.The field of morphometrics has transitioned relatively smoothly through several different phases, from D'Arcy Thompson's (1917) extraordinary and influential treatise on growth and form, through the influx of algebraic and statistical methods related to eigenanalysis, cluster analysis, and multidimensional scaling, to direct landmark-based methods that echo Thompson's original intents and insights. The history of these ideas is reviewed by Richard Reyment, who has himself been an important contributor to and synthesizer of morphometric theory and practice.Included among the other chapters are examples of applications of morphometric methods in palaeontology and neontology, fishery science, archaeology, and evolutionary ecology. The volume also includes reviews and perspectives on a number of currently important methodological topics in morphometrics, including approaches to the analysis of morphological variation and clinal variation, the quantification of curvature, discrimination and classification, automated typology, use of morphometric data in evolutionary and phylogenetic analysis, and the integration of traditional distance-based methods with geometric morphometrics.The geometric morphometric methods that have been developed over the past several decades to extend beyond the limitations of traditional distance-based methods have become transformed into the new standard research protocol. As the technologies of measurement, analysis and display continue to improve; our current methods will continue to evolve. For those who are entering the field, it is hoped that v vi Foreword the papers in this volume may serve as a current set of landmarks in time, reflecting over past work and pointing toward the future. Lubbock, TexasRichard E. Strauss

Ceramic Morphological Organisation in the Southern Caddo Area: The Clarence H. Webb Collections

“…The more recent fluorescence of landmark-based applications has been driven by advances in anthropology (Bookstein et al, 2004;Elewa, 2010;Richtsmeier et al, 1992;Slice, 2007) and a wide range of other research domains (Adams et al, 2004Bookstein, 1982Bookstein, , 1991Bookstein, , 2016Jensen, 2003;MacLeod, 2017;Marcus et al, 1996;Rohlf, 1990Rohlf, , 1999Rohlf & Marcus, 1993;Rohlf & Slice, 1990;Zelditch et al, 2004) that articulate with the rise of the Procrustes paradigm (Adams et al, 2013, 8). Archaeological applications have included two-dimensional (2D) analyses of Clovis technology in North America (Buchanan & Collard, 2010;Buchanan et al, 2011Buchanan et al, , 2013Buchanan et al, , 2015Eren et al, 2015), Fishtail or Fell projectile points in South America (Castiñeira et al, 2011;Loponte et al, 2015), bifacial points from the Umbu Tradition in Brazil (Okumura & Araujo, 2013, 2014, lanceolate points-ayampitin-from Argentina (Rivero & Heider, 2017), the size and shape of projectile points from southern Patagonia (Charlin & González-José, 2012;Charlin et al, 2014), bifacial tools from southern Poland (Serwatka, 2015), Final Palaeolithic large tanged points (Serwatka & Riede, 2016), Paleoindian point types from Florida (Thulman, 2012) and the Southern High Plains (Buchanan et al, 2007(Buchanan et al, , 2017, ceramics from Casas Grandes…”

Effects of vector control on the population structure of tsetse ( Glossina fuscipes fuscipes ) in western Kenya

“…Thus, the use of a fast and low cost tool of morphometrics is critical in population structure studies. Morphometrics, defined as -an interwoven set of largely statistical procedures for analysing variability in size and shape of organs and organisms‖ focuses on variation, its description in terms of parameters and relation to extrinsic factors of organs and organisms under study (Cardillo and Reyment, 2010).…”

Una aplicación de la morfometría geométrica al estudio de las variaciones morfológicas de los retratos de la tumba de Neferhotep -TT49-, Dinastía XVIII, Reino Nuevo, Egipto

“…Por este motivo requiere que los individuos estén clasificados a priori en grupos mutuamente excluyentes. Su objetivo es determinar si los grupos previamente establecidos (en base a variables extrínsecas al análisis) difieren entre sí y en qué forma (Strauss, 2010). El AD busca los ejes que optimizan las diferencias entre grupos en relación con la varianza interna al grupo.…”