Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
the study of evolutionary trends or developmental trajectories. Proper
study of design and diversity requires objective criteria upon which to
base decisions regarding similarities or differences among organisms.
One class of objective criteria is measurement.
1.1 A brief history of morphometrics
The quantitative study of form and form change comprises the field of
morphometrics. Morphometrics experienced tremendous activity dur-
ing the 1980s and 1990s (e.g., Bookstein, 1978; 1982; 1990; 1991; Rohlf
and Bookstein, 1990; Reyment, 1991; Marcus, Bello et al., 1993; Rohlf
and Marcus, 1993; Marcus, Corti et al., 1996; Small, 1996; Dryden and
Mardia, 1998), but its foundations can be traced to the early part of the
twentieth century. Sir D'Arcy Thompson is regarded by some as the
father of morphometrics, even though a term for this field of study had
not been coined at that time. According to Thompson (Thompson,
1992), the purpose of his volume, On Growth and Form , was:
To correlate with mathematical statement and physical law certain of
the simpler outward phenomena of organic growth and structure or
form, while all the while regarding the fabric of the organism, ex hypoth-
esi, as a material and mechanical configuration.
Thompson's work is still regarded as advanced for his time, and his
transformational grids are most modern morphometricians' envy. The
information communicated by Thompson's transformational grids
remains the goal of most morphometric studies (e.g., Bookstein, 1978;
Cheverud, Lewis et al., 1983; Bookstein, 1988, 1989; O'Higgins, 1999;
Richtsmeier and Lele, 1993).
Two early studies by Franz Boas (1905) and his student Eleanor
Phelps (1932) demonstrate that the birth of morphometrics also lies in
part in the work of these early anthropologists (Cole, 1996). The reason
Boa's contribution is so significant is that he explicitly recognized the
arbitrary nature of registration systems used in craniometry (e.g., the
Frankfurt Horizontal plane), as well as the implicit assumption that
the selected registration points are biologically “stable”. Boas suggest-
ed that the most favorable superimposition of any two forms would be
obtained when all points are considered as having equal weight in the
comparison. As pointed out by Cole (1996), Boas' (1905) solution recog-
nized the arbitrary nature of registration systems and anticipated
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