Morphometry

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Application of morphometry in biology: Exemplary measurements on a bird

Morphometry (from the Greek μορφή, morphé “shape”, “form” and μετρική, metron “metric”, “counting”, “measurement”) deals with the characterization of the shape of objects through quantifiable measures. The term can be found as a technical term in various scientific disciplines in which the term “morphology”, i.e. the study of form and shape, plays a role. The morphometry includes the measurement of this form and shape.

biology

With the help of so-called landmarks , it is possible to record the overall shape of an organism and examine it using statistical methods

In biology , for a long time simple distance measurements were used to record the morphology of living beings (examples would be the total body length, the head-trunk length, the condylobasal length on the skull of mammals or the wingspan of birds). Such routes are important for the description and determination of living beings as well as for a wide variety of analyzes (e.g. allometry ). A subsequent method that has become possible with the advent of computer technology is geometric morphometry . With this method, a large number of measuring points (so-called landmarks ) are placed on the object to be examined in order to capture the shape of the object in its entirety. Both two-dimensional analysis (eg. As based on digital photos) and three-dimensional studies (eg. As on the basis of CT data or with a are Microscribe gained landmarks ) possible. Subsequently, the shape of individual groups of individuals (species, sexes, mutants and wild types, populations of different geographical distribution, etc.) recorded via landmarks can be compared using statistical methods or examined separately. Paleoanthropologists, for example, use geometric morphometry to analyze the degree of relationship between human ancestors. In neurobiology , the so-called voxel-based morphometry (VBM) exists as an imaging method .

geography

In the context of geomorphology , morphometry involves measurements of the earth's surface or its individual components.

See also

literature

  • J.-Martin Hecker: Morphometry and dynamics of muddy soil surfaces. Computed tomographic examinations and verification of models of the storage density depth profile. ISBN 3-936846-03-0 , 341 S. 2002 (Diss.)

Web links

Commons : Morphometry  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stresemann, Erwin. Excursion fauna of Germany: Bnd. III Vertebrates Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena Stuttgart, 1995.
  2. ↑ Kaliontzopoulou, Antigoni, Miguel A. Carretero, and Gustavo A. Llorente. "Multivariate and geometric morphometrics in the analysis of sexual dimorphism variation in Podarcis lizards." Journal of Morphology 268.2 (2007): 152-165.
  3. ↑ Debat, Vincent, et al. "Hsp90 and the quantitative variation of wing shape in Drosophila melanogaster." Evolution 60.12 (2006): 2529-2538.
  4. ↑ Cardini, Andrea, and PAUL O'HIGGINS. "Patterns of morphological evolution in Marmota (Rodentia, Sciuridae): geometric morphometrics of the cranium in the context of marmot phylogeny, ecology and conservation." Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 82.3 (2004): 385-407.
  5. ↑ Katerina Harvati et al .: Neanderthal taxonomy reconsidered: Implications of 3D primate models of intra- and interspecific differences. In: PNAS . Volume 101, No. 5, 2004, pp. 1147-1152, doi: 10.1073 / pnas.0308085100