Abstract
Quantification and analysis of shape is an important component of many paleoecological studies. Geometric morphometrics is a powerful shape analysis tool that allows its user to compare entire regions of morphology, visualize shape differences between groups, and create visualizations based on real data. This method is rapidly becoming the standard for data collection and analysis in many fields such as anthropology, biology, ecology, forensics, paleontology, and zoology. Here, the basic procedures of geometric morphometrics are reviewed and a case study on the ecomorphology of the cervid calcaneus is provided to illustrate how geometric morphometrics can be used in paleoecological studies.
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Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Darin Croft, Scott Simpson, and Denise Su for organizing the excellent “Latest Methods in Cenozoic Paleoecology ” symposium and to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for hosting the event. Funding for this research was provided by National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant BCS-0824607, University of Minnesota Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, University of Minnesota Herb E. Wright Fellowship in Paleoecology, and University of Minnesota, Department of Anthropology Block Grants. For access to and assistance with collections I thank Alexandru Petculescu (Institute of Speleology, Bucharest, Romania), Aurelian Popescu (Museum of Oltenia, Craiova, Romania), Abel Prieur (Collections de Geologie, Universite C. Bernard Lyon 1, France), Didier Berthet (Collection du Musee des Confluences, Lyon, France), Michi Schulenberg (Chicago Field Museum, USA), Eileen Westwig (American Museum of Natural History, USA), Linda Gordon (National Museum of Natural History, USA), and Chris Conroy (UC Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, USA). Thanks to Adam Sylvester for the femoral head visualization in Fig. 14.1 and to the editors and reviewers whose insights greatly improved this manuscript.
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Appendices
Appendix 14.1
Software Packages
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EVAN Toolbox: http://evan-society.org/node/42
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geomorph (R package): https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/geomorph/index.html
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Landmark editor: http://graphics.idav.ucdavis.edu/research/EvoMorph
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Morpho (R package): https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/Morpho/index.html
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Morphologika2: https://sites.google.com/site/hymsfme/downloadmorphologica
On-line Resources
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MorphoBrowser: http://pantodon.science.helsinki.fi/morphobrowser/
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MorphoSource: http://morphosource.org/
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Stony Brook Morphometrics page: http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/morph/
Appendix 14.2
ID | Species | Site | Assigned Habitat | Closed | InterClosed | InterOpen | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FR684a | Cervidae (m) | Senèze | Open | 0.0096 | 0.0792 | 0.0839 | 0.8273 |
FR684b | Cervidae (m) | Senèze | Open | 0.0091 | 0.1811 | 0.0838 | 0.726 |
FR684c | Cervidae (m) | Senèze | Open | 0.0439 | 0.1076 | 0.1281 | 0.7204 |
FR683a | Cervidae (m) | Senèze | Open | 0.0022 | 0.1576 | 0.2168 | 0.6235 |
FR662a | Cervus (l) | Senèze | InterOpen | 0.0094 | 0.0248 | 0.5111 | 0.4547 |
FR608a | Eucladoceros senezensis | Senèze | InterOpen | 0.0938 | 0.036 | 0.6379 | 0.2323 |
FR574a | Eucladoceros senezensis | Senèze | InterOpen | 0.0037 | 0.001 | 0.9376 | 0.0577 |
FR537a | Alces (Libralces) | Senèze | Closed | 0.5834 | 0.0318 | 0.1544 | 0.2305 |
FR2817 | Cervidae (s) | St. Vallier | Open | 0 | 0.0015 | 0.0013 | 0.9972 |
FR2821 | Cervidae (s) | St. Vallier | Open | 0 | 0.0021 | 0.0025 | 0.9954 |
FR2816 | Cervidae (s) | St. Vallier | Open | 0 | 0.0063 | 0.0112 | 0.9825 |
FR2819 | Cervidae (s) | St. Vallier | Open | 0.001 | 0.002 | 0.0212 | 0.9758 |
FR2818 | Cervidae (s) | St. Vallier | Open | 0.0001 | 0.0254 | 0.0189 | 0.9556 |
FR2791 | Cervidae (l) | St. Vallier | Open | 0.0004 | 0.0157 | 0.1087 | 0.8752 |
FR2808 | Cervidae (m) | St. Vallier | Open | 0.0067 | 0.03 | 0.0906 | 0.8727 |
FR2810 | Cervidae (s) | St. Vallier | Open | 0.0052 | 0.0199 | 0.1021 | 0.8727 |
FR2805 | Cervidae (m) | St. Vallier | Open | 0.0002 | 0.0995 | 0.1293 | 0.771 |
FR2813 | Cervidae (s) | St. Vallier | Open | 0.0036 | 0.0231 | 0.2835 | 0.6898 |
FR497716 | Croizetoceros ramosus | St. Vallier | Open | 0.0025 | 0.0437 | 0.2825 | 0.6713 |
FR2823 | Cervidae (m) | St. Vallier | Open | 0.0085 | 0.0337 | 0.3265 | 0.6314 |
FR2809 | Cervidae (m) | St. Vallier | Open | 0.0627 | 0.2448 | 0.137 | 0.5555 |
FR497661 | Croizetoceros ramosus | St. Vallier | Open | 0.005 | 0.0068 | 0.4675 | 0.5207 |
FR2130 | Eucladoceros senezensis | St. Vallier | InterOpen | 0.0096 | 0.0123 | 0.696 | 0.2821 |
FR2120 | Eucladoceros senezensis | St. Vallier | InterOpen | 0.0021 | 0.0123 | 0.7241 | 0.2616 |
FR2792 | Cervidae (l) | St. Vallier | InterOpen | 0.0053 | 0.0051 | 0.8284 | 0.1612 |
FR2796 | Cervidae (l) | St. Vallier | InterOpen | 0.1394 | 0.0171 | 0.7031 | 0.1405 |
FR2131 | Eucladoceros senezensis | St. Vallier | InterOpen | 0.1063 | 0.0043 | 0.8121 | 0.0772 |
FR2795 | Cervidae (l) | St. Vallier | InterOpen | 0.0288 | 0.0193 | 0.878 | 0.0739 |
FR2797 | Cervidae (l) | St. Vallier | InterOpen | 0.0221 | 0.0124 | 0.9081 | 0.0575 |
FR2798 | Cervidae (l) | St. Vallier | InterOpen | 0.0267 | 0.0004 | 0.9689 | 0.004 |
ROIV-V.1 | Eucladoceros sp. | Grăunceanu | Open | 0 | 0.017 | 0.0187 | 0.9642 |
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Curran, S.C. (2018). Three-Dimensional Geometric Morphometrics in Paleoecology. In: Croft, D., Su, D., Simpson, S. (eds) Methods in Paleoecology. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94265-0_14
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