Meeting Abstract

115.5  Tuesday, Jan. 7 11:15  The Use of Geometric Morphometrics to Characterize Morphology and Movement in Bipalium cf. vagum SODA, KJ*; SLICE, DE; Florida State University, Tallahassee; Florida State University, Tallahassee kjs11w@my.fsu.edu

Over the past few decades, geometric morphometric methods (GMM) have revolutionized how morphometric studies are conducted. Because GMMs are able to maintain all geometric information present in a set of landmarks, semilandmarks, or outlines throughout an analysis, these methods have allowed researchers to maximize the information available to characterize structures, to draw comparisons, and to reveal covariation between structures and additional variables. However, these methods have usually been restricted to hard structures, while morphometricians working on soft-bodied organisms have continued to rely on qualitative descriptions and linear measurements. Perhaps the largest reason that GMMs have thus far been restricted to hard structures is the dynamic nature of soft-bodied organisms’ shapes. Here we discuss a new method to characterize the morphology and locomotion of a soft-bodied planarian, Bipalium cf. vagum, via GMMs and geometric motion analysis. How this information can be interpreted and future applications to other systems are discussed.