Morphometrics: A Critical Reassessment

形态计量学是研究生物大小和形状变化的一种相对较新的方法。形态计量学技术已被用于研究个体生长和进化变化。它的前身，多元生物计量学，是基于对生物体组成部分（如腿长或体重）的测量进行统计分析。相比之下，形态计量学试图通过研究离散的地标、整体轮廓或生物感兴趣的表面来捕捉和提取变化的基本几何模式。在过去的十年里，这些几何/统计技术层出不穷，而基于微机的图像分析系统的出现也使它们得到了广泛的应用。不幸的是，大多数生物学家都没有能力理解这些技术的数学基础，因此他们无法在不同的方法之间做出关键的选择。F. J. Rohlf博士专注于不同技术的各种优点和缺点，并试图指导生物学家采用最适合所研究的生物体和假设的技术。他的软件程序提供了微妙而复杂的方法，他对形态测量学全谱的持续研究将为整个生物研究界带来好处。

Morphometrics is a relatively new family of approaches to the changes in organismal size and shape. Morphometric techniques have been used in the study of individual growth as well as evolutionary change. Its precursor, multivariate biometrics, was based on the statistical analysis of measurements made on sets of component parts of organisms (e.g., leg length, or body weight). In contrast, morphometrics attempts to capture and distill the essential geometric patterns of change by studying discrete landmarks, or whole outlines, or surfaces of biological interest. The past decade has witnessed a profusion of these geometric/statistical techniques, and the advent of microcomputer-based image analysis systems has made their application widespread. Unfortunately, most biologists are ill- equipped to understand the mathematical underpinnings of these techniques, and they are therefore unable to make critical choices between alternate approaches. Dr. F. J. Rohlf has focused on the various strengths and weaknesses of different techniques, and has sought to guide biologists to the technique that is most appropriate for the organisms and hypotheses under study. His software programs have provided access to subtle and complicated approaches, and his continued research into the full spectrum of morphometrics will have benefits for the entire biological research community.