Dear morphometers, After reading a series of papers dealing with the issue of bilateral symmetry and the treatment of asymmetric variation, my conclusion is that the relabeling reflection, suggested by works such as those of Mardia et al (2000), Bookstein and Mardia (2003) and Klingenberg et al. (2002), is the method most convenient and parsimonious with the theory of shape variation.
However, I would like to turn to you for advise regarding the convenience of applying such a method when analyzing large series of bilaterally symmetric structures for the study of geographic variability and evolution. My interest is not directly on the effects of asymmetry, but overall variability in the size and shape of the skull. So my question is how important is to eliminate the effects of asymmetry from the shapes of interest? Is this treatment for data something that you will suggest as critical? Or is it a step I could perhaps obviate, assuming that the degree of asymmetry is small enough, perhaps after a pilot test on asymmetry variance? I will be grateful with any advice you could provide me. I am a biologist who loves morphometrics, working amidst sequencers and DNA laboratories, so you could imagine my longing for discussing morphometric issues with more experienced colleagues on the subject. Thanks Pablo Pablo Jarrin Grad. Student Dept. of Biology Boston University -- Replies will be sent to the list. For more information visit http://www.morphometrics.org
