TY - JOUR
T1 - Delimitation of a continuous morphological character with unknown prior membership
T2 - Application of a finite mixture model to classify scapular setae of Abacarus panticis
AU - Shen, Tsung Jen
AU - Kuo, Chi Chien
AU - Wang, Chin Fah
AU - Huang, Kun Wei
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments We are indebted to W.C. Yang for field collection and S. Huang, R. Wang, J. Jeng, S.K. Hu for organizing the data for analyses. The work was financially supported by National Science Council of Taiwan for T.J. Shen, National Taiwan University for C.C. Kuo, and National Museum of Natural Science of Taiwan for K.W. Huang.
PY - 2014/7
Y1 - 2014/7
N2 - Unambiguous classification is a prerequisite for the study of polymorphism, but accurate delimitation of continuous morphological characters can be challenging. Finite mixture modeling is a rigorous and flexible approach for delimiting continuous variables with unknown prior membership, but its application to morphological studies remains limited. In this study, the lengths of scapular setae of the eriophyoid mite Abacarus panticis Keifer collected from 18 sites in Taiwan were used as an example to evaluate the eligibility of finite mixture models. We then tested the hypothesis that longer scapular setae can facilitate dispersal. Lastly, we investigate morphological variation in various seta morphs by geometric morphometric techniques. Finite mixture models can satisfactorily classify scapular setae of A. panticis into long and short seta morphs. Abacarus panticis of the long morph only occurred in five sites whereas the short seta morph existed in all study sites. Geometric morphometric analyses revealed a more elongated coxal area in individuals of long morph than in those of short morph. Because the short morph is more widespread in geographical distribution than the long morph, longer scapular setae seem unlikely a specialized adaptation for dispersal. Further studies should capitalize on the finite mixture model in the delimitation of continuous morphological characters.
AB - Unambiguous classification is a prerequisite for the study of polymorphism, but accurate delimitation of continuous morphological characters can be challenging. Finite mixture modeling is a rigorous and flexible approach for delimiting continuous variables with unknown prior membership, but its application to morphological studies remains limited. In this study, the lengths of scapular setae of the eriophyoid mite Abacarus panticis Keifer collected from 18 sites in Taiwan were used as an example to evaluate the eligibility of finite mixture models. We then tested the hypothesis that longer scapular setae can facilitate dispersal. Lastly, we investigate morphological variation in various seta morphs by geometric morphometric techniques. Finite mixture models can satisfactorily classify scapular setae of A. panticis into long and short seta morphs. Abacarus panticis of the long morph only occurred in five sites whereas the short seta morph existed in all study sites. Geometric morphometric analyses revealed a more elongated coxal area in individuals of long morph than in those of short morph. Because the short morph is more widespread in geographical distribution than the long morph, longer scapular setae seem unlikely a specialized adaptation for dispersal. Further studies should capitalize on the finite mixture model in the delimitation of continuous morphological characters.
KW - Eriophyoid mites
KW - Geometric morphometrics
KW - Intraspecific variability
KW - Polymorphism
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U2 - 10.1007/s10493-014-9787-x
DO - 10.1007/s10493-014-9787-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 24647799
AN - SCOPUS:84901609010
SN - 0168-8162
VL - 63
SP - 361
EP - 375
JO - Experimental and Applied Acarology
JF - Experimental and Applied Acarology
IS - 3
ER -