On the comparison of the strength of morphological integration across morphometric datasets.
Evolutionary morphologists frequently wish to understand the extent to which organisms are integrated, and whether the strength of morphological integration among subsets of phenotypic variables differ among taxa or other groups. However, comparisons of the strength of integration across datasets are difficult, in part because the summary measures that characterize these patterns (RV coefficient and rPLS) are dependent both on sample size and on the number of variables. As a solution to this issue, we propose a standardized test statistic (a z-score) for measuring the degree of morphological integration between sets of variables. The approach is based on a partial least squares analysis of trait covariation, and its permutation-based sampling distribution. Under the null hypothesis of a random association of variables, the method displays a constant expected value and confidence intervals for datasets of differing sample sizes and variable number, thereby providing a consistent measure of integration suitable for comparisons across datasets. A two-sample test is also proposed to statistically determine whether levels of integration differ between datasets, and an empirical example examining cranial shape integration in Mediterranean wall lizards illustrates its use. Some extensions of the procedure are also discussed.
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. dcadams@iastate.edu.|Department of Statistics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. dcadams@iastate.edu.
Dean C
DC
Adams
Department of Science, Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA.
Michael L
ML
Collyer
D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size / Q000235:genetics*; D066264:Datasets as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D008116:Lizards / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics; D008957:Models, Genetic
Geometric morphometrics; Morphological evolution; morphological integration