Dear Morphometricians, My name is Lindsay Marshall ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] )and I am an Australian studying my PhD at the University of Tasmania. My thesis is concerned with the comparison of the shape of the fins of different shark species. I would like to apply this in an ecomorphological context, comparing different life histories with fin shapes. Aside from this, my thesis is largely concerned with the practical application of being able to tell species from shape and applying this to illegal shark fin harvests in order to quantify the catch of illegal fishers in Northern Australia. I am thinking that Geometric Morphometric techniques might prove to be more advantageous than traditional morphometric measurements.
I have collected (and am collecting) a large amount of digital images of fins from different species. I would like some advice (or to perhaps be pointed in the right direction) on what would be recommended as the best way to analyse this data to answer my questions of a) comparing fin shape in terms of ecomorphology and b) comparing fin shape in terms of identifying species and c) comparing fin shape in relation to growth/body size of individual species. I was looking at taking landmark points however, this appears to be problematic as I can only collect Type 2 and 3 landmarks on such shapes. Would open outline analysis be suitable as a tool to distinguish species? Any feedback from such morpho professionals as yourselves would be greatly appreciated! Cheers! Lindsay Miss Lindsay Marshall PhD Candidate University of Tasmania / CSIRO Marine Research 233 Middle St Cleveland, QLD 4163 Work: (07) 3826 7134 Mob: 0403797200 http://fcms.its.utas.edu.au/scieng/zoo/pagedetails.asp?lpersonId=3705 www.stickfigurefish.com.au Nomina si nescis, perit et cognitio rerum. If you do not know the names, the knowledge about the things vanishes as well. (Carl von Linné, Critica botanica) -- Replies will be sent to the list. For more information visit http://www.morphometrics.org
