Analysis of ratios in multivariate morphometry.

ABSTRACT: The analysis of ratios of body measurements is deeply ingrained in the taxonomic literature. Whether for plants or animals, certain ratios are commonly indicated in identification keys, diagnoses, and descriptions. They often provide the only means for separation of cryptic species that mostly lack distinguishing qualitative characters. Additionally, they provide an obvious way to study differences in body proportions, as ratios reflect geometric shape differences. However, when it comes to multivariate analysis of body measurements, for instance, with linear discriminant analysis (LDA) or principal component analysis (PCA), interpretation using body ratios is difficult. Both techniques are commonly applied for separating similar taxa or for exploring the structure of variation, respective

SUBMITTER: Baur H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3193766 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature