Adding the third dimension to studies of parallel evolution of morphology and function: An exploration based on parapatric lake-stream stickleback.

ABSTRACT: Recent methodological advances have led to a rapid expansion of evolutionary studies employing three-dimensional landmark-based geometric morphometrics (GM). GM methods generally enable researchers to capture and compare complex shape phenotypes, and to quantify their relationship to environmental gradients. However, some recent studies have shown that the common, inexpensive, and relatively rapid two-dimensional GM methods can distort important information and produce misleading results because they cannot capture variation in the depth (Z) dimension. We use micro-CT scanned threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758) from six parapatric lake-stream populations on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to test whether the loss of the depth dimension in 2D GM

SUBMITTER: Haines GE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7713967 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature