Geometric morphometrics of symmetry and allometry in Micrasterias rotata (Zygnemophyceae, Viridiplantae)
2010
Abstract
Algal cells show many types of complex symmetry. Here, we analyze symmetry and allometry in Micrasterias rotata.
We apply a new general approach for shape analysis of structures with any type of symmetry. Our method can separate a component of symmetric variation among individuals from one or more components of asymmetry.
Our results suggest that almost two-thirds of the shape variation in our example (62.3 % of the total variance) is explained by the asymmetric component relative to the juvenile-adult axis. We also compared these patterns of allometry within cells to allometry among cells by using a multivariate regression of shape averaged by individuals onto size of the whole cells.