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Animals
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Animal Geometric Morphometrics—Concepts, Methods, and Applications
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Animal Geometric Morphometrics—Concepts, Methods, and Applications

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 4931

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tomasz Szara

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Morphological Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
Interests: animal anatomy; geometric morphometrics; sexual dimorphism; osteometry; European bison
Prof. Dr. Malgorzata Domino

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Large Animal Diseases and Clinic, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS—SGGW), 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: equine disease; diagnostic imaging; surface electromyography (sEMG); functional electrical stimulation (FES); image processing; signal processing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Geometric Morphometrics is a field of study that combines principles from biology, mathematics, and computer science to analyze and quantify the shape and size variations of biological structures in animals. It focuses on the analysis of landmarks and outlines of organisms, such as the shape of a skull or the outline of an insect's wing. Geometric Morphometrics offers a powerful framework for understanding how shape variations within and between species are influenced by genetics, development, environment, and evolution. It captures the spatial configuration of characteristic points or curves on biological structures. A shape is treated as a set of geometric coordinates and vectors. Geometric morphometrics represents shape variations as configurations of landmarks, which are specific anatomical points or curves identified on structures. These landmarks are typically homologous and can be analyzed directly as geometric data using statistical methods. Geometric morphometrics is widely employed in various scientific fields, including biology, paleontology, anthropology, anatomy, medicine, veterinary science, and evolutionary biology. Scientists apply geometric morphometrics analyses in order to answer questions related to growth, development, evolutionary change, adaptation, sexual dimorphism, taxonomy, and more. The ability to quantify and analyze shape variation provides insights into fundamental biological processes and can help answer a multitude of research questions. This Special Issue is dedicated to research addressing the analysis of animal body shape, body parts, and anatomical structures. Studies on both vertebrates and invertebrates are welcome.

Dr. Tomasz Szara
Dr. Malgorzata Domino
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • geometric morphometrics
  • shape variation
  • Procrustes superimposition
  • centroid size
  • allometric effect

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3074 KiB  
Article
Unveiling the Wing Shape Variation in Northern Altiplano Ecosystems: The Example of the Butterfly Phulia nymphula Using Geometric Morphometrics
by Thania Acuña-Valenzuela, Jordan Hernández-Martelo, Manuel J. Suazo, Isabel A. Lobos, Alejandro Piñeiro-González, Amado Villalobos-Leiva, Franco Cruz-Jofré, Raquel Hernández-P, Margarita Correa and Hugo A. Benítez
Animals 2024, 14(19), 2758; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14192758 - 24 Sep 2024
Viewed by 551
Abstract
The Andean Altiplano, characterized by its extreme climatic conditions and high levels of biodiversity, provides a unique environment for studying ecological and evolutionary adaptations in insect morphology. Butterflies, due their large wing surface compared to body surface, and wide distribution among a geographical [...] Read more.
The Andean Altiplano, characterized by its extreme climatic conditions and high levels of biodiversity, provides a unique environment for studying ecological and evolutionary adaptations in insect morphology. Butterflies, due their large wing surface compared to body surface, and wide distribution among a geographical area given the flight capabilities provided by their wings, constitute a good biological model to study morphological adaptations following extreme weathers. This study focuses on Phulia nymphula, a butterfly species widely distributed in the Andes, to evaluate wing shape variation across six localities in the Northern Chilean Altiplano. The geometric morphometrics analysis of 77 specimens from six locations from the Chilean Altiplano (Caquena, Sorapata Lake, Chungará, Casiri Macho Lake, Surire Salt Flat, and Visviri) revealed significant differences in wing shape among populations. According to the presented results, variations are likely influenced by local environmental conditions and selective pressures, suggesting specific adaptations to the microhabitats of the Altiplano. The first three principal components represented 60.92% of the total wing shape variation. The detected morphological differences indicate adaptive divergence among populations, reflecting evolutionary responses to the extreme and fragmented conditions of the Altiplano. This study gives insights into the understanding of how high-altitude species can diversify and adapt through morphological variation, providing evidence of ecological and evolutionary processes shaping biodiversity in extreme environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Geometric Morphometrics—Concepts, Methods, and Applications)
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15 pages, 6017 KiB  
Article
Comparative Cranial Geometric Morphometrics among Wistar Albino, Sprague Dawley, and WAG/Rij Rat Strains
by Duygu Küçük Ağaç, Burcu Onuk, Ozan Gündemir, Murat Kabak, Nicoleta Manuta, Buket Çakar, Maciej Janeczek, Denise Amber Crampton and Tomasz Szara
Animals 2024, 14(9), 1274; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14091274 - 24 Apr 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 916
Abstract
This research utilizes geometric morphometrics to investigate shape variation in the skull, mandible, and teeth among three rat strains: Wistar Albino (WA), Sprague Dawley (SD), and WAG/Rij (WR). Through the analysis of 48 rats using 2D geometric morphometric techniques, significant differences in their [...] Read more.
This research utilizes geometric morphometrics to investigate shape variation in the skull, mandible, and teeth among three rat strains: Wistar Albino (WA), Sprague Dawley (SD), and WAG/Rij (WR). Through the analysis of 48 rats using 2D geometric morphometric techniques, significant differences in their skull morphology were identified. This study indicates a shift from a rectangular to an oval cranial shape across strains, with notable size and morphological variances. Particularly, the WR strain’s skull shape significantly differs from the SD and WA strains, suggesting distinct ecological or genetic pathways. Compared to the skull, mandible shape differences are less pronounced, but still significant. The WR strain exhibits a distinct mandible shape, potentially reflecting ecological adaptations like dietary habits. The teeth shape of WR rats is the most distinct. SD rats consistently exhibited larger sizes in both skull and mandible measurements, while WR rats were notably smaller. Interestingly, sexual dimorphism was not statistically significant in skull and teeth sizes, aligning with findings from previous studies. However, the mandible showed clear size differences between sexes, underscoring its potential for adaptive or behavioral studies. In summary, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of morphological variations in rat strains, highlighting the intricate interplay of size, shape, and ecological factors. These findings lay a foundation for deeper explorations into the adaptive, ecological, or genetic narratives influencing rat morphology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Geometric Morphometrics—Concepts, Methods, and Applications)
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11 pages, 3308 KiB  
Article
Shape and Size Variations of Distal Phalanges in Cattle
by Nicoleta Manuta, Buket Çakar, Ozan Gündemir and Mihaela-Claudia Spataru
Animals 2024, 14(2), 194; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14020194 - 7 Jan 2024
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1336
Abstract
Studies on the structure of the distal phalanx help explain the development of laminitis. Additionally, examining the structure of the distal phalanx from a taxonomic perspective also contributes to veterinary anatomy. In this study, we examined shape variation in the medial and lateral [...] Read more.
Studies on the structure of the distal phalanx help explain the development of laminitis. Additionally, examining the structure of the distal phalanx from a taxonomic perspective also contributes to veterinary anatomy. In this study, we examined shape variation in the medial and lateral distal phalanx of both fore- and hindlimbs using the geometric morphometry method. We investigated whether the shape of the distal phalanx differed between phalanx positions and how much of the shape variation in this bone depends on size. For this purpose, distal phalanges from 20 Holstein cattle were used, and the bones were digitized in 3D. A draft containing 176 semi-landmarks was prepared for shape analysis, and this draft was applied to all samples using automated landmarking through point cloud alignment and correspondence analysis. A principal component analysis was performed to obtain general patterns of morphological variation. The centroid size (CS) was employed as an approximation of size. Although distal phalanx groups generally showed close variations, PC1 statistically separated the hindlimb lateral distal phalanx (HL) and the forelimb medial distal phalanx (FM) from each other in shape. While PC2 separated HL from other distal phalanx groups, PC3 separated fore- and hindlimb groups. The shape (Procrustes distance) of the hindlimb medial distal phalanx (HM) is markedly less variable than the other three phalanges. The smallest distal phalanx in size was HL. For both forelimb and hindlimb, the medial distal phalanges were larger than the lateral ones. Size (CS) was found to have an effect on PC1 and PC3. In this study, a reference model of the same breeds for distal phalanx was created. These results can provide useful information, especially in terms of veterinary anatomy, zooarchaeology, and paleontology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Geometric Morphometrics—Concepts, Methods, and Applications)
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21 pages, 6293 KiB  
Article
The Postural and Body Surface Temperature Response of Leisure Horses to Lunging with Selected Lunging Aids
by Małgorzata Maśko, Urszula Sikorska, Marta Borowska, Łukasz Zdrojkowski, Tomasz Jasiński and Małgorzata Domino
Animals 2024, 14(1), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14010022 - 20 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1433
Abstract
Incorporating lunging into a horse’s daily routine aims to enhance fitness, physical condition, and specific skills or exercises when using lunging aids (LAs). To assess the effectiveness of lunging, non-contact technologies like geometric morphometrics and infrared thermography can be employed. This study seeks [...] Read more.
Incorporating lunging into a horse’s daily routine aims to enhance fitness, physical condition, and specific skills or exercises when using lunging aids (LAs). To assess the effectiveness of lunging, non-contact technologies like geometric morphometrics and infrared thermography can be employed. This study seeks to evaluate lunging efficiency based on the horse’s posture and surface temperature when lunging with different head and neck positions. The study aims to determine if changes in a horse’s posture correspond to increased metabolic activity, as indicated by body surface temperature. Thirteen horses included in the study were lunged with chambon (CH), rubber band (RB), and triangle side reins (TRs) as well as with a freely moving head (FMH). Images were taken in visible light and infrared. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to analyze horse posture changes and a Pixel-Counting Protocol (PCP) was used to quantify surface temperature patterns. The horses’ posture exhibited contrasting changes, reflected by a changing centroid shape (p < 0.0001) but not size (p > 0.05) when lunged with RB and TRs, but not CH. Different (p < 0.0001) surface temperature patterns were observed during lunging. FMH lunging resulted in lower temperatures over a larger surface, CH induced moderate temperatures on a smaller area, RB caused moderate to high temperatures across a broader surface, and TRs led to higher temperatures over a smaller region. The studied lunging cases returned different (p < 0.0001) surface temperature patterns. Lunging with FMH returned lower temperatures over a larger surface, CH moderate temperatures on a smaller area, RB moderate to high temperatures across a broader surface, and TRs higher temperatures over a smaller region. The proposed methods can be applied to evaluate the efficiency of lunging in horses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Geometric Morphometrics—Concepts, Methods, and Applications)
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