scholarly journals Use of geometric morphometrics to differentiate selected lines of Carniolan honeybees (Apis mellifera carnica) in Serbia and Montenegro

2015 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 929-934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sladjan Rasic ◽  
Mica Mladenovic ◽  
Ljubisa Stanisavljevic
Keyword(s):  
Geometric Morphometrics ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
Canonical Variate ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Honeybee Queen ◽  
Total Variability ◽  
Sustainable Conservation ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Colony Level

In a selection of honeybees from autochthonous ecotypes, different lines must be identified. Honeybee lineages are usually distinguished by classical morphometrics and molecular markers, but these approaches are both costly and time-consuming to implement. Recognition of the purity of races is very important for regional and country regulations to allow a sustainable conservation of the huge variety of local honeybees. A geometric morphometric approach has been frequently used. In this work, honeybee samples were collected from stationary apiaries (belonging to the centers for honeybee queen selection) from two different Serbian areas: Vrsac (northeastern Serbia, mostly flatland) and Vranje (southern Serbia, mostly mountainous), and two different Montenegrin areas: Bijelo Polje (northern Montenegro, mountainous region) and Sutomore (southern Montenegro, coastal region). Each sample consisted of 150 honeybee workers, collected from 10 hives (15 specimens each). On the honeybee left forewings, a total of 19 vein intersections were used to determine the differences among the honeybees using MorphoJ 1.4a software. Canonical variate analysis (CVA) slightly separated the honeybee lines into one overlapping cloud of specimens at the individual level. The first canonical variable (60.57% of the total variability) discriminated mainly between Bijelo Polje and Sutomore honeybee lines. Therefore, on the colony level, CVA separated all four groups of breeding honeybee lines. The results show that geometric morphometrics are reliable in the discrimination of honeybee lines within subspecies only at the colony level.

scholarly journals Examination of Facial Shape Changes Associated with Cardiovascular Disease Using Geometric Morphometrics

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Cardiovascular Diseases ◽  
Geometric Morphometrics ◽  
Directional Asymmetry ◽  
Facial Morphology ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
Facial Shape ◽  
Normal Individuals ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Shape Changes

Facial investigations using geometric morphometrics has been used in many studies to affirm that a particular disease can attribute to an individual’s facial morphology. A landmark based geometric morphometric analysis was used in this study to asses if facial shape changes are associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and if facial morphology of the CVD individuals differs from the normal ones. In the Municipality of Cantilan, Surigao del Sur, frontal face images taken from 32 cardiovascular disease patients and 32 normal individuals were examined using forty-one manually positioned landmarks. Result showed that facial morphology of the CVD group differs from non-CVD group. Procrustes ANOVA showed significant values for the individual symmetry and directional asymmetry. The analysis of structure by the Principal Components reveals particular variations and the scatter plot of the residual asymmetry shows distinct differences between CVD and non-CVD. Therefore, cardiovascular diseases contribute to facial shape changes and that development of facial morphology differs between CVD and non-CVD group.

scholarly journals Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) development by landmark-based geometric morphometrics of cephalopharyngeal skeleton: a preliminary assessment for forensic entomology application

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Xuan Sim ◽  
Raja M. Zuha
Keyword(s):  
Geometric Morphometrics ◽  
Forensic Entomology ◽  
Larval Growth ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Developmental Time ◽  
Canonical Variate ◽  
Centroid Size ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
Chrysomya Megacephala ◽  
Cephalopharyngeal Skeleton

Abstract Background Considering the practicality of geometric morphometrics which could discriminate insect species, this application was extended to the analysis of blow fly larval growth based on cephalopharyngeal skeleton. In forensic entomology, cephalopharyngeal skeleton plays a crucial role in species identification but the morphometric information of this part is scarce. In this study, Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) was reared in two study replicates in natural conditions and samplings were conducted at fixed daily intervals. Cephalopharyngeal skeletons were removed from larvae and mounted on glass slides. Images were obtained from the specimens; digitized and geometric morphometric analysis on C. megacephala cephalopharyngeal skeletons was performed with MorphoJ software based on the ordination of five landmarks. The assessments of this analysis were based on centroid size measurements, visualization on the landmarks displacements, classification of the relative landmarks by using canonical variate analysis, and ontogenetic allometry determination. Findings Centroid size was strongly correlated with developmental time (p < 0.05) and significantly different between daily intervals (p < 0.05). Ontogenetic allometric effect based on multivariate regression on Procrustes coordinates and centroid size was significant (p < 0.0001), indicating that shape was influenced by growth (60.3%). Disposition occurred on all landmarks during development and was further discriminated based on age groups. Conclusions Other than discriminating between species, geometric morphometrics was found to be practical to visualize larval growth based on cephalopharyngeal skeletons which can be useful in forensic entomology.

scholarly journals Leaf geometric morphometric analyses of Callicarpa and Geunsia (Lamiaceae) in the Malesian region

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Danila ◽  
GRECEBIO JONATHAN D. ALEJANDRO
Keyword(s):  
Geometric Morphometrics ◽  
Leaf Shape ◽  
Canonical Variate ◽  
Leaf Margin ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
Morphological Studies ◽  
Morphometric Analyses ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Distinguishing Features ◽  
Landmark Position

Abstract. Danila JS, Alejandro GJD. 2021. Leaf geometric morphometric analyses of Callicarpa and Geunsia (Lamiaceae) in the Malesian region. Biodiversitas 22: 4379-4390. Leaves are one of the most substantial organs of plants for it serves as a basis of species identification. Leaf morphology provides distinguishing features that help in the discrimination of plant species as well as investigation of leaf features among populations. This study aimed to investigate leaf shape variations between the two genera Geunsia Blume group and its closely related taxon, Callicarpa L. (Lamiaceae) using a landmark-based geometric morphometric method. The differences in the leaf shape among former members of Geunsia, namely C. apoensis, C. basilanensis, C. flavida, C. paloensis, C. pentandra, C. ramiflora, and C. surigaensis are also evaluated. Two primary landmarks and 14 semilandmarks were assigned in all samples to represent changes around the leaf margin. The Procrustes fit was generated using MorphoJ software which displays the mean and landmark position for individual configurations. Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) and Mahalanobis Distance (MD) were able to discriminate all samples of Geunsia species using a scatter plot. Furthermore, Procrustes ANOVA showed a significant difference (P = 0.0082) among the seven species of the Geunsia group. Based on the results obtained, geometric morphometrics of leaf shape is effective in interspecific discrimination within members of Geunsia. However, the result of Discriminant Analysis (DA) showed that Geunsia and Callicarpa groups made leaf shape differences inefficient in discriminating the two genera. Therefore, further morphological studies on landmark-based geometric morphometrics of leaf shape involving a larger number of samples especially in the study of intergeneric classification are suggested.

scholarly journals Wing Morphometrics of Aedes Mosquitoes from North-Eastern France

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 341
Author(s):  
Jean-Philippe Martinet ◽  
Hubert Ferté ◽  
Pacôme Sientzoff ◽  
Eva Krupa ◽  
Bruno Mathieu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Geometric Morphometrics ◽  
Canonical Variate ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
Aedes Mosquitoes ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Arboviral Diseases ◽  
Geometric Morphometric Analysis ◽  
Wing Morphometrics ◽  
Reliable Classification

Background: In the context of the increasing circulation of arboviruses, a simple, fast and reliable identification method for mosquitoes is needed. Geometric morphometrics have proven useful for mosquito classification and have been used around the world on known vectors such as Aedes albopictus. Morphometrics applied on French indigenous mosquitoes would prove useful in the case of autochthonous outbreaks of arboviral diseases. Methods: We applied geometric morphometric analysis on six indigenous and invasive species of the Aedes genus in order to evaluate its efficiency for mosquito classification. Results: Six species of Aedes mosquitoes (Ae. albopictus, Ae. cantans, Ae. cinereus, Ae. sticticus, Ae. japonicus and Ae. rusticus) were successfully differentiated with Canonical Variate Analysis of the Procrustes dataset of superimposed coordinates of 18 wing landmarks. Conclusions: Geometric morphometrics are effective tools for the rapid, inexpensive and reliable classification of at least six species of the Aedes genus in France.

scholarly journals Pattern Formation and Optimization in Army Ant Raids

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricard V. Solé ◽  
Eric Bonabeau ◽  
Jordi Delgado ◽  
Pau Fernández ◽  
Jesus Marín
Keyword(s):  
Return On Investment ◽  
Search Algorithm ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Ant Colonies ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Army Ant ◽  
Behavioral Rules ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Simple Search ◽  
Colony Level

Army ant colonies display complex foraging raid patterns involving thousands of individuals communicating through chemical trails. In this article we explore, by means of a simple search algorithm, the properties of these trails in order to test the hypothesis that their structure reflects an optimized mechanism for exploring and exploiting food resources. The raid patterns of three army ant species, Eciton hamatum, Eciton burchelli, and Eciton rapax, are analyzed. The respective diets of these species involve large but rare, small but common, and a combination of large but rare and small but common food sources. Using a model proposed by Deneubourg et al. [4], we simulate the formation of raid patterns in response to different food distributions. Our results indicate that the empirically observed raid patterns maximize return on investment, that is, the amount of food brought back to the nest per unit of energy expended, for each of the diets. Moreover, the values of the parameters that characterize the three optimal pattern-generating mechanisms are strikingly similar. Therefore the same behavioral rules at the individual level can produce optimal colony-level patterns. The evolutionary implications of these findings are discussed.

Differential Effects of Competence and Morality on Self-Esteem at the Individual and the Collective Level

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-198
Author(s):  
Wiktor Soral ◽  
Mirosław Kofta
Keyword(s):  
Self Esteem ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual

Abstract. The importance of various trait dimensions explaining positive global self-esteem has been the subject of numerous studies. While some have provided support for the importance of agency, others have highlighted the importance of communion. This discrepancy can be explained, if one takes into account that people define and value their self both in individual and in collective terms. Two studies ( N = 367 and N = 263) examined the extent to which competence (an aspect of agency), morality, and sociability (the aspects of communion) promote high self-esteem at the individual and the collective level. In both studies, competence was the strongest predictor of self-esteem at the individual level, whereas morality was the strongest predictor of self-esteem at the collective level.

Metonymy in Dance: Ballet Bunheads Take a Cognitive Turn

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-34
Author(s):  
Edward C. Warburton
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Artistic Development ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Figures Of Speech ◽  
Self Image ◽  
Level I ◽  
Dance Educators ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Metaphor And Metonymy

This essay considers metonymy in dance from the perspective of cognitive science. My goal is to unpack the roles of metaphor and metonymy in dance thought and action: how do they arise, how are they understood, how are they to be explained, and in what ways do they determine a person's doing of dance? The premise of this essay is that language matters at the cultural level and can be determinative at the individual level. I contend that some figures of speech, especially metonymic labels like ‘bunhead’, can not only discourage but dehumanize young dancers, treating them not as subjects who dance but as objects to be danced. The use of metonymy to sort young dancers may undermine the development of healthy self-image, impede strong identity formation, and retard creative-artistic development. The paper concludes with a discussion of the influence of metonymy in dance and implications for dance educators.

Exploring the effect of weight loss on food reward at the individual level

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Oustric ◽  
Kristine Beaulieu ◽  
Nuno Casanova ◽  
Francois Husson ◽  
Catherine Gibbons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Food Reward ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual

Personality change and environmental concerns

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher James Hopwood ◽  
Ted Schwaba ◽  
Wiebke Bleidorn
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Environmental Concerns ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
German Population ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Sustainable Behavior ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Over Time

Personal concerns about climate change and the environment are a powerful motivator of sustainable behavior. People’s level of concern varies as a function of a variety of social and individual factors. Using data from 58,748 participants from a nationally representative German sample, we tested preregistered hypotheses about factors that impact concerns about the environment over time. We found that environmental concerns increased modestly from 2009-2017 in the German population. However, individuals in middle adulthood tended to be more concerned and showed more consistent increases in concern over time than younger or older people. Consistent with previous research, Big Five personality traits were correlated with environmental concerns. We present novel evidence that increases in concern were related to increases in the personality traits neuroticism and openness to experience. Indeed, changes in openness explained roughly 50% of the variance in changes in environmental concerns. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the individual level factors associated with changes in environmental concerns over time, towards the promotion of more sustainable behavior at the individual level.

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