Disparities in the analysis of morphological disparity-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Disparities in the analysis of morphological disparity

Published:2020-07 Issue:7 Volume:16 Page:20200199
ISSN:1744-9561
Container-title:Biology Letters
language:en
Short-container-title:Biol. Lett.

Author:

Guillerme Thomas¹²^ORCID,Cooper Natalie³^ORCID,Brusatte Stephen L.⁴^ORCID,Davis Katie E.⁵^ORCID,Jackson Andrew L.⁶^ORCID,Gerber Sylvain⁷^ORCID,Goswami Anjali³^ORCID,Healy Kevin⁸^ORCID,Hopkins Melanie J.⁹^ORCID,Jones Marc E. H.¹⁰^ORCID,Lloyd Graeme T.¹¹^ORCID,O'Reilly Joseph E.¹²¹³^ORCID,Pate Abi¹³,Puttick Mark N.¹³¹⁴^ORCID,Rayfield Emily J.¹³^ORCID,Saupe Erin E.¹⁵^ORCID,Sherratt Emma¹⁶^ORCID,Slater Graham J.¹⁷^ORCID,Weisbecker Vera¹¹⁸^ORCID,Thomas Gavin H.²^ORCID,Donoghue Philip C. J.¹³^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD4072, Australia

2. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK

3. Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum London, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK

4. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK

5. Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK

6. Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

7. Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, 57 rue Cuvier CP39, 75005 Paris, France

8. Ryan Institute, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland, Galway, H91YD6H, Ireland

9. Division of Paleontology (Invertebrates), American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA

10. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK

11. School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK

12. MRC Institute of Genetic and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK

13. School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK

14. Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY UK

15. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, S Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK

16. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia

17. Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA

18. College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia

Abstract

Analyses of morphological disparity have been used to characterize and investigate the evolution of variation in the anatomy, function and ecology of organisms since the 1980s. While a diversity of methods have been employed, it is unclear whether they provide equivalent insights. Here, we review the most commonly used approaches for characterizing and analysing morphological disparity, all of which have associated limitations that, if ignored, can lead to misinterpretation. We propose best practice guidelines for disparity analyses, while noting that there can be no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. The available tools should always be used in the context of a specific biological question that will determine data and method selection at every stage of the analysis.

Funder

Leverhulme Trust

Royal Society

Australian Research Council

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Irish Research Council

Natural Environment Research Council

H2020 European Research Council

Publisher

The Royal Society

Subject

General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)