Morphometric measurement selection: an invertebrate case study based on weevils from sub-Antarctic Marion Island

• Published in: Polar biology 2003-12, Vol.27 (1), p.38-49
• Main Authors: JANSE VAN RENSBURG, L, CHIMIMBA, C. T, BASTOS, A. D, CHOWN, S. L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Carnivores; Cluster analysis; Curculionidae; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Insecta; Invertebrates; Morphology. Histology. Cytology; Ordination
• ISSN: 0722-4060; 1432-2056
• DOI: 10.1007/s00300-003-0546-4

A character-selection procedure initially applied in vertebrates (viverrid carnivores and murid rodents), but with a potential, more general application, was used to select appropriate characters for a morphometric investigation of weevils on Marion Island. An initial set of 23 linear measurements, adopted from a previous morphometric study, was subjected to cluster and ordination procedures to summarize patterns of correlations between measurements. Criteria were developed for the selection of representative measurements within cluster analysis-generated sub-clusters, after the exclusion of redundant measurements. This reduced the 23 initial variables to a final set of 15 measurements. The general grouping of variables was broadly consistent across all weevil species examined. Apart from economizing, by reducing the number of characters that have to be measured for subsequent analyses, the procedure also provides a way to adequately represent the phenotype, and to investigate morphological integration.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]