Geometric Morphometrics for Biologists: A Primer

The first edition of Geometric Morphometrics for Biologists has been the primary resource for teaching modern geometric methods of shape analysis to biologists who have a stronger background in biology than in multivariate statistics and matrix algebra. These geometric methods are appealing to biologists who approach the study of shape from a variety of perspectives, from clinical to evolutionary, because they incorporate the geometry of organisms throughout the data analysis. The second edition of this book retains the emphasis on accessible explanations, and the copious illustrations and examples of the first, updating the treatment of both theory and practice. The second edition represents the current state-of-the-art and adds new examples and summarizes recent literature, as well as provides an overview of new software and step-by-step guidance through details of carrying out the analyses.

Contains updated coverage of methods, especially for sampling complex curves and 3D forms and a new chapter on applications of geometric morphometrics to forensicsOffers a reorganization of chapters to streamline learning basic conceptsPresents detailed instructions for conducting analyses with freely available, easy to use software Provides numerous illustrations, including graphical presentations of important theoretical concepts and demonstrations of alternative approaches to presenting results

1. Introduction

Part I: Basics of Shape Data 2. Landmarks and Semilandmarks 3. Simple Size and Shape Variables: Shape Coordinates 4. Theory of Shape 5. The Thin-plate Spline

Part 2: Analyzing Shape Variables 6. Ordination Methods 7. Partial Least Squares 8. Statistics 9. General Linear Models

Part 3: Applications 10. Evolutionary Developmental Biology 11. Variational Properties 12. Ecological and Evolutionary Morphology 13. Systematics 14. Forensics