Geometric Morphometric Methods for Functional Morphological Studies

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Rohlf 9728160 In recent years, there has been a revolution in the way in which one is able to capture and analyze the shapes of biological structures. One can now analyze shape as a whole without having to break it down into sets of ad hoc variables such as ratios. This project is concerned with the further development of these morphometric methods - particularly for applications in functional morphology. Software will also be developed to implement the methods. Specifically, the PIs will investigate the following topics. 1) extend the methods to the analysis of articulated structures; 2) develop methods to identify covarying subsets of landmarks; 3) develop software to express shape differences as warped (deformed) images; 4) include outline information in the tps series of software; 5) develop software to analyze asymmetry; and 6) develop software to fit phylogenetic trees to geometric morphometric data for studies using the comparative method.