Morphometrics for Nonmorphometricians

by Ashraf M.T. Elewa (Editor)

Overview

Morphometrics is concerned with the study of variations and change in the form (size and shape) of organisms or objects adding a quantitative element to descriptions and thereby facilitating the comparison of different objects and organisms. This volume provides an introduction to morphometrics in a clear and simple way without recourse to complex mathematics and statistics. This introduction is followed by a series of case studies describing the variety of applications of morphometrics from paleontology and evolutionary ecology to archaeological artifacts analysis. This is followed by a presentation of future applications of morphometrics and state of the art software for analyzing and comparing shape.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783540958529
Publisher:	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publication date:	06/09/2010
Series:	Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences , #124
Edition description:	2010
Pages:	367
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.04(d)

Table of Contents

Part I Introduction and Historical Review of the Subject (Chaps. 1 and 2)

1 Why Morphometrics? Ashraf M.T. Elewa 3

2 Morphometrics: An Historical Essay Richard A. Reyment 9

Part II Methodological Approach (Quantification and Visualization of Shape, and Traditional and Geometric Morphometrics) (Chaps. 3 to 6)

3 Controlling for Curvature in the Quantification of Leaf Form Jonathan D. Krieger 27

4 Discriminating Groups of Organisms Richard E. Strauss 73

5 Visual Analysis in Archaeology. An Artificial Intelligence Approach Juan A. Barceló 93

6 Evolution of the Upper Cretaceous Oysters: Traditional Morphometrics Approach Ahmed A. Abdelhady Ashraf M.T. Elewa 157

Part III Applications (Chaps. 7 to 15)

7 Combining Shape Data and Traditional Measurements with the 2B-PLS: Testing the Covariation Between Avian Brain Size and Cranial Shape Variation as an Example Jesús Marugán-Lobón 179

8 Biogeographic Analysis Using Geometric Morphometrics: Clines in Skull Size and Shape in a Widespread African Arboreal Monkey Andrea Cardini José Alexandre Felizola Diniz Filho P. David Polly Sarah Elton 191

9 Stock Identification of Marine Populations Steven X. Cadrin 219

10 Correlating Shape Variation with Feeding Performance to Test for Adaptive Divergence in Recently Invading Stickleback Populations from Swiss peri-alpine Environments Denis Roy Kay Lucek Esther Bühler Ole Seehausen 233

11 Macroevolutionary Trends in the Skull of Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs - The Largest Terrestrial Animals to Have Ever Lived Mark T. Young Matthew D. Larvan 259

12 The Use of Geometric Morphometrics in Studying Butterfly Wings in an Evolutionary Ecological Context Casper J. Breuker Melanie Gibbs Stefan Van Dongen Thomas Merckx Hans Van Dyck 271

13 Towards Automating Artifact Analysis: A Study Showing Potential Applications of Computer Vision and Morphometrics to Artifact Typology Michael J. Lenardi Daria E. Merwin 289

14 Morphometric Analysis Applied to the Archaeological Pottery of the Valley of Guadalquivir Ana L. Martínez-Carrillo Manuel Jesús Lucena José Manuel Fuertes Arturo Ruiz 307

15 Some Applications of Geometric Morphometrics to Archaeology Marcelo Cardillo 325

Part IV Scope to the Future of Morphometrics (Chaps. 16 to 18)

16 Prospectus: The Future of Morphometrics Richard E. Strauss 345

17 Morphometrics and Cosmology: Short Note and Future Hope Ashraf M.T. Elewa 353

18 Morphometrics in Past: Integrating Morphometrics with General Data Analysis Software Øyvind Hammer 357

Index 363

Editorial Reviews

From the reviews:

“This collection explains the volume’s aim as being 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 the topic … . this volume should be acquired by those whose purpose demands a comprehensive collection of all published morphometric studies. (e.g. specialist libraries).” (Norman MacLeod, Geology Magazine, February, 2011)

From the Publisher