<scp>pat‐geom</scp>: A software package for the analysis of animal patterns

Chan, Ian Z. W.; Stevens, Martin; Todd, Peter A.

doi:10.1111/2041-210x.13131

Cited by 47 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…eye size relative to head size (Werner and Seifan 2006), horn size relative to body size (Nijhout and Emlen 1998), relative wing spot size in butterflies (Monteiro et al 1994)). Another recently developed package of tools for ImageJ could also be useful for extracting data on other aspects of patterning from citizen scientists' photographs (Chan et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continent‐scale phenotype mapping using citizen scientists’ photographs

Drury

Barnes²,

Finneran³

et al. 2019

Ecography

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Field investigations of phenotypic variation in free‐living organisms are often limited in scope owing to time and funding constraints. By collaborating with online communities of amateur naturalists, investigators can greatly increase the amount and diversity of phenotypic data in their analyses while simultaneously engaging with a public audience. Here, we present a method for quantifying phenotypes of individual organisms in citizen scientists’ photographs. We then show that our protocol for measuring wing phenotypes from photographs yields accurate measurements in two species of Calopterygid damselflies. Next, we show that, while most observations of our target species were made by members of the large and established community of amateur naturalists at http://iNaturalist.org, our efforts to increase recruitment through various outreach initiatives were successful. Finally, we present results from two case studies: 1) an analysis of wing pigmentation in male smoky rubyspots Hetaerina titia showing previously undocumented geographical variation in a seasonal polyphenism, and 2) an analysis of variation in the relative size of the wing spots of male banded demoiselles Calopteryx splendens in Great Britain questioning previously documented evidence for character displacement. Our results demonstrate that our protocol can be used to create high quality phenotypic datasets using citizen scientists’ photographs, and, when combined with metadata (e.g. date and location), can greatly broaden the scope of studies of geographical and temporal variation in phenotypes. Our analyses of the recruitment and engagement process also demonstrate that collaborating with an online community of amateur naturalists can be a powerful way to conduct hypothesis‐driven research aiming to elucidate the processes that impact trait evolution at landscape scales.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continent‐scale phenotype mapping using citizen scientists’ photographs

Drury

Barnes²,

Finneran³

et al. 2019

Ecography

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“…Although we used this script to measure the relative level of pigmentation in male damselfly wings, the script could easily be applied to a wide array of phenotypic measurements, such as measuring the relative size of different morphological features (e.g., eye size relative to head size (Werner and Seifan 2006), horn size relative to body size (Nijhout and Emlen 1998), relative wing spot size in butterflies (Monteiro et al 1994)). Another recently developed package of tools for ImageJ could also be useful for extracting data on other aspects of patterning from citizen scientists' photographs (Chan et al 2019). Previous research documented a seasonal increase in wing pigmentation, from the early season to the peak breeding season, in smoky rubyspots (Drury et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continent-scale phenotype mapping using citizen scientists’ photographs

Drury

Barnes

Finneran

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Field investigations of phenotypic variation in free-living organisms are often limited in scope owing to time and funding constraints. By collaborating with online communities of amateur naturalists, investigators can greatly increase the amount and diversity of phenotypic data in their analyses while simultaneously engaging with a public audience. Here, we present a method for quantifying phenotypes of individual organisms in citizen scientists' photographs. We then show that our protocol for measuring wing phenotypes from photographs yields accurate measurements in two species of Calopterygid damselflies. Next, we show that, while most observations of our target species were made by members of the large and established community of amateur naturalists at iNaturalist.org, our efforts to increase recruitment through various outreach initiatives were successful. Finally, we present results from two case studies: (1) an analysis of wing pigmentation in male smoky rubyspots (Hetaerina titia) showing previously undocumented geographical variation in a seasonal polyphenism, and (2) an analysis of variation in the relative size of the wing spots of male banded demoiselles (Calopteryx splendens) in Great Britain questioning previously documented evidence for character displacement. Our results demonstrate that our protocol can be used to create high quality phenotypic datasets using citizen scientists' photographs, and, when combined with metadata (e.g., date and location), can greatly broaden the scope of studies of geographical and temporal variation in phenotypes. Our analyses of the recruitment and engagement process also demonstrate that collaborating with an online community of amateur naturalists can be a powerful way to conduct hypothesis-driven research aiming to elucidate the processes that impact trait evolution at landscape scales.

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“…The contrast value is a measure of the patterning and texture of the appearance of the nest from a distance, where high contrast suggests strongly non‐uniform bold patterning. Contrast values were measured with the ‘Marking Contrast’ function of the PAT‐GEOM software, which operates in IMAGEJ (Chan et al 2019). PAT‐GEOM is a software that allows users to measure various pattern features of interest from selected areas within photographs.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of disruptive camouflage of avian cup‐nests

Mulder

Campbell

Ruxton

2020

Ibis

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Parent birds employ various strategies to protect their offspring against nest predators. Two well‐researched anti‐nest‐predation strategies involve visual concealment of the nest by way of parental camouflage and egg camouflage. By contrast, camouflage of nest structures is relatively under‐researched, particularly in the case of cup‐nests in trees and bushes. We explored how birds camouflage cup‐nests in nature. Specifically, we tested Hansell’s hypothesis that birds use externally applied pale and white objects such as spider cocoons and lichens to achieve cup‐nest camouflage. To test Hansell’s hypothesis, three complementary experiments were performed: (1) an in situ nest predation experiment; (2) a photo‐based visual search experiment; and (3) contrast analyses using PAT‐GEOM software in IMAGEJ. White paper and chalk spots were used to mimic white objects used by birds in nature. Whereas predation rates in Experiment 1 were not affected by white spots, location rates in Experiment 2 were lower for natural nests with white spots than without white spots. Experiment 3 demonstrated that white spots significantly increased the contrast between different visual elements of nests. It was concluded that white objects can potentially camouflage nests against some nest predators, and that any improved camouflage was probably achieved via disruptive camouflage.

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pat‐geom: A software package for the analysis of animal patterns

Cited by 47 publications

References 35 publications

Continent‐scale phenotype mapping using citizen scientists’ photographs

Continent‐scale phenotype mapping using citizen scientists’ photographs

Continent-scale phenotype mapping using citizen scientists’ photographs

Evaluation of disruptive camouflage of avian cup‐nests

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