#allometry

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Universal Wingbeats

Eagles, butterflies, and whales don't appear to have much in common, but a new study shows that they -- along with over 400 other flying and swimming animals of all sizes -- flap with a frequency determined by a simple equation. (Image credit: top - E. Ward, graph - J. Jensen et al.; research credit: J. Jensen et al.; via Physics World) Read the full article

[reblogs-the-art]

Speaking of not just multiplying all the numbers by 10. Don't make the neck opening twice as big. Too many plus size patterns are on the verge of falling off my shoulders. This is more of an issue with sewn clothing than with knitted, but still.

Listen I am not going to name anyone specifically, but pattern makers need to talk to one (1) fat person before they can post their patterns online.

I am so sick of finding a cute pattern, getting all the supplies, checking my gage, and starting to knit, only to find that my sleeves are a foot longer than a normal human because the pattern maker just multiplied all their numbers by 10 when they sized it up. I can't believe I have to say this but, just because my ass is fat does not mean my arms go down to my knees???

[oaresearchpaper]

Otolith Morphology of Cichlidae Species in Lake Buyo, Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

The morphology of otoliths is used as an indicator of various ecological processes or properties. So the present study was aimed to provide baseline data on the morphology of otoliths in six species of Cichlidae. A total of 179 individuals belonging to six species of the Cichlidae fished in Lake Buyo in June 2021 by artisanal fisheries. The sagitta of these species studied present common morphological characteristics. Indeed, they are elliptical in shape and robust with a concave internal face and a convex external face. However, there are a few differences that help distinguish each species. In the relationships between the total length of the fish and the length of the otolith, the values of the allometry coefficient “a” are between 0 and 1 (0 ˂ a ˂ 1) for all the species considered; they reflect a lowering allometry between the length of the fish and the length of the otolith. The values of the coefficient of determination are very high in Sarotherodon melanotheron (r2 = 0.8961), Oreochromis niloticus (r2 = 0.8469) and Coptodon zillii (r2 = 0.8403). These values reflect a strong correlation between the total length of the fish and the length of the otolith of each species. Our study, in the Ivorian or West African context, has the advantage of providing, on the one hand, morphological data on the otoliths of freshwater fish and, on the other hand, means of estimating the size of fish at from those of the otoliths.

Introduction

Fish provides an accessible source of nutritious food and protein for a large portion of the world's population. In Africa, among all ingested protein sources, fish and seafood occupy fourth place, after cereals, legumes and milk (FAO, 2016). However, in developing countries, the late 1990s marked the beginning of the decline in overall catches in continental waters (FAO, 2002). It is currently accepted that fishery resources are not inexhaustible (Jamet and Lagoin, 1981). Thus, supplying populations constitutes a real challenge for governments, especially at a time when consumers are increasingly interested in the quality of their food, given the increasing pollution of aquatic environments. In such a context, it appears important to sustainably manage fish stocks and this necessarily requires better knowledge of the biology and ecology of fish.

The study of fish biology can concern certain organs such as otoliths which provide important information on the species concerned (Panfili et al., 1990). Otolith morphology is used to indicate various ecological processes or properties (Campana and Casselman, 1993). Like other biological structures, otolith morphology exhibits interspecific variability. Indeed, otoliths have a distinctive shape, often characteristic of the fish species to which they belong (Veen et al., 2005). This is why hydrobiologists, as well as taxonomists and archaeologists, often rely on the shape and size of preserved or undigested otoliths to determine which species and sizes of fish were eaten by predators (Olsson and North, 1997). The relationships between the otolith and the fish have been studied by several authors (Echeveria, 1987; Campana et al., 1993; Aydin et al., 2004 and Veen et al., 2005). Also, some researchers have succeeded in measuring the duration of the reproductive cycle of fish (Seret and Opic, 2011) and calculating their age (Panfili et al., 1990) using the otolith.

In Ivory Coast, most of the studies carried out in ichthyology have made it possible to understand the biodiversity of fish (Kamelan, 2014), their food ecology (Kouamélan, 1999), their reproduction (Koné, 2000) as well as their reproduction areas (N'Dri, 2020). However, the field of otolithology remains little explored. So far, the work carried out only concerns fish otoliths from the West African coasts (Veen and Hoedemakers (2005), and few data exist on freshwater fish. In these continental waters, the Cichlidae family is part of the most represented families. It constitutes, for example, 35% of the catches of fishermen from Lake Buyo; with more than eight species (N'Dri et al., 2020; Goli, 2021). Thus, given the combined effect of overexploitation and climate change which threatens the breeding areas of cichlids, which could lead to the disappearance of certain species (Yao et al., 2023), it appears necessary to describe their otoliths in order to archive them. The general objective of this study is therefore to determine the morphological and morphometric data of the otoliths of six species of Cichlids captured in Lake Buyo. This will firstly involve describing the morphology of the otoliths of the species collected and secondly studying the relationships between the size of the fish and that of its otolith. 

Source : Otolith Morphology of Cichlidae Species in Lake Buyo, Côte d’Ivoire | InformativeBD

[ledzeppelinmixtape]

did u know if u dont procrastinate ummmm u get ur work done and then u have time for blogging and also u wont want to die from anxiety. revolutionary concept

[great-and-small]

Don't know if you answers asks but, I could use some assistance.

I wanna know what the average megabat's wingspan to body ratio is. Like I'm working on a fictional bat species and I'm not sure how long their wings should be. It has a body length of 2 feet from head to toes. (And please don't answer with "you decide what it should be" I kinda want to stay somewhat rooted in reality)

If you ever get around to answering this, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Great question- I love speculative biology. However I’m probably not the best person to ask as all of my hands on experience working with megabats was in veterinary school. I only really worked with the genus Pteropus (specifically Malayan flying foxes and one spectacled flying fox). For reference here are two of those individuals I did physical exams and other preventative care for. Both animals live at an AZA accredited facility with spectacular care.

Neither of these photos are great wing shots but I think they can at least kind of illustrate the general body shape of megabats. All of my limited experience with bats consists of medical care and husbandry so I’m afraid I can’t get that much more in the weeds on the actual bat stats when it comes to size ratio. As an educated guess I’d say that your 2 foot long bat would likely have a wingspan well over 6 feet. However, for a more reliable source, I did find this excellent paper (Allometry of Bat Wings and Legs and Comparison with Bird Wings) that has an enormous table documenting the body mass and wing ratio of dozens of bat species. Perhaps this will help in your writing?

[singlethread]

So y’all didn’t all talk about albatrosses as a prime example of positive allometry

[shuuumaaaaa-main]

Blog update (03-2023): Genshin writeups

I finished the web pages to archive my writeups! Which should work well for the browser versions of Tumblr. Idk how to make it not scuffed through the mobile app.

Genshin Studies — Genshin Writeups (tumblr.com)

The list of contents has webpage redirects to three categories:

Geography and adjacent topics

Allometry and large objects (allometry is the study of the size of growth and proportions of body parts of living things)

Various topics

My desire to establish my writeup archive on Tumblr was prompted mainly by Reddit deciding to auto-block any direct links to Google Sites (which is what I originally used as my writeup archives). Also, Tumblr being a blog site lends itself more easily to sharing and crossposting stuff, so now this is going to be my most updated repository for genshin-related stuff.

Thank you for reading.

[archipithecus]

The size and elaboration of M. giganteus antlers placed it at the heart of a historic discussion about the fitness, evolution and extinction of fossil animals. M. giganteus stags were considered examples par excellence of orthogenic evolution in the late 19th and early 20th century when, as reviewed by Gould (1974), it was viewed as a species that had evolved itself into a corner: the result of a runaway, one-way evolutionary process that encouraged the creation of vastly oversized and biologically untenable antlers. Eventually, it was suggested, the antlers became so large and heavy that their owners were forever being caught in vegetation, mired in mud and bogs, or even suffered catastrophic brain haemorrhages caused by redirected blood flow from antler velvet. Extinction was inevitable for such sorry creatures.

Of course, even an elementary grasp of modern principles of natural selection shows these ideas as naive, quaint and totally wrong - there is no conceivable mechanism through which species can evolve structures that are so hazardous to their health. But it wasn't until the 1930s that a sensible alternative explanation for Megaloceros antler size was proposed (positive allometry), and we waited until the 1970s for someone to actually test whether Megaloceros antlers were actually oversized, cumbersome organs or consistent in proportion to what we'd expect from living deer. This study came in the form of Stephen J. Gould's famous 1974 paper "The origin and function of 'bizarre' structures: antler size and skull size in the 'Irish Elk,' Megaloceros giganteus", which demonstrated that Megaloceros antler dimensions were not only consistent with those predicted from living deer, but that their evolution was explainable through regular old sexual selection - no crazy, uncontrolled evolutionary mechanism required. Further work has shown that, relative to body size, Megaloceros antlers were no heavier than those of fallow deer and, indeed, were actually lighter than those of reindeer (Geist 1999). Gould's results were an important grounding of Megaloceros in the wider context of deer biology. Rather than seeing it as a weird, dead-end outlier, Gould showed that Megaloceros represented the known limit of antlers operating as 'honest' signals of stag health and virility. Their size is a predictable outcome of cervine evolution should species develop into large-bodied, open-country specialists.

Were Megaloceros antlers exceptionally large? In an absolute sense, yes, but in a relative sense, no: they're appropriate for a deer of its body size. This graph from Gould's landmark 1974 paper is a little crude - neither shoulder height nor antler length are the best measure of body proportions (masses would be preferable) but this study marked the beginning of more informed and quantified investigations into the evolution, function and significance of giant deer antlers. It seems remiss to have written all this about Megaloceros without mentioning modern ideas of why it is no longer with us. This remains a topic of ongoing research, and a synthesis provided by Lister and Stewart (2019) gives a good overview of the current state of the debate. Our vast sample size and detailed understanding of Quaternary sediments means that the history of Megaloceros can be read in detail, providing a substantial (though still developing) insight into the major factors that contributed to its demise. Once thought to have been an exclusively Pleistocene species that held out longest in northwest Europe, recent discoveries and dating of Megaloceros sites in Siberia have not only confirmed its survival well into the Holocene, but shown that Asia held Megaloceros populations longer than anywhere else - as recently as 7,600 years ago.

With concepts that Megaloceros antlers were some sort of doomed anatomy pulling giant deer to extinction firmly disregarded, more sensible discussions about Megaloceros demise consider environmental change, their high productivity demands, and human hunting likely extinction causes. Generally, it seems that local Megaloceros extinctions coincide with habitats changing from parkland habitat to wooded or tundra-like settings, both of which heralded reduction in optimal foraging conditions as well as losses of plants rich in calcium. Megaloceros populations in those areas may have thus dwindled or been forced to find more suitable places to live. There is evidence that Megaloceros anatomy responded somewhat to nutrient-stressed conditions, but ideas that dwarfed or otherwise stunted populations developed in islands or other refugia have not been bourne out: late-surviving Megaloceros were only something like 2% smaller than earlier specimens. The lack of more dramatic body size reduction may be related to predation pressures to stay large and fast, especially as new data shows that humans co-existed with Megaloceros for longer than was once thought. Evidence for our hunting giant deer is relatively rare so we may not have been a major factor in their extinction, but as suitable habitats reduced, even low hunting frequencies may have been enough to push Megaloceros over the edge.

animals do evolve wacky traits all the time for sexual selection reasons, but don't succumb to the myth of "this animal went extinct because it did a bad job at evolution". biology is complicated, everything has a multitude of causes and effects, and organisms are well adapted to the environments they evolved in

too many people see evolution as just animals becoming better animals when the truth is that theres a species of boar that evolved to die because its tusks grow into its skull because the males with long tusks fuck the most

[salvisalvatorevicidomini]

A new interpretation of #shape and #size is possible?? According to this view YES >> #Megalodon is #hostage to an anthropomorphic interpretation hyper #iconic - #metaphorical of the #fossil remains (strong #allometry & #heterochrony)?? .. https://www.researchgate.net/post/Megalodon_is_hostage_to_an_anthropomorphic_interpretation_hyper_iconic-metaphorical_of_the_fossil_remains_strong_allometry_heterochrony

[botanyone]

Reproduction for one American grass is an open and shut case

Reproduction for one American grass is an open and shut case https://ift.tt/r4cNPZi New insights into the reproductive habits of a perennial grass, Danthonia compressa, may offer clues to understanding plant survival under changing environments. Gregory Cheplick’s research, published in AoB PLANTS, deciphers the dual reproductive strategy of this grass species, demonstrating how it adapts to fluctuating environmental conditions. Danthonia compressa employs two types of reproduction: chasmogamous (CH) and cleistogamous (CL). Chasmogamous reproduction involves open flowers allowing cross-pollination, while cleistogamous involves self-fertilising closed flowers. Interestingly, these different flower types contribute to the plant’s survival in diverse conditions. The difference between the flowers starts with the panicles. A panicle is a flower cluster or inflorescence found in many plant species. It is characterised by a main stem (the rachis) with branches that further subdivide into smaller branches, each of which ends in a flower. Chasmogamous flowers grow on terminal panicles at the top of the plant. In contrast, cleistogamous flowers develop on axillary panicles, off the side of the plant, and also at the grass base as a “cleistogene. Cheplick’s research showed that chasmogamous and cleistogamous reproductive habits displayed differing rates of seed set and fecundity across different habitats and over time. He discovered that chasmogamous reproduction was generally more variable, potentially impacted more by environmental changes, whereas cleistogamous reproduction was more stable. The axillary cleistogamous spikelets, including the basal cleistogene, provided additional fecundity, particularly in sunny environments and larger plants, highlighting the ecological significance of cleistogamy to plant fitness. The study suggests that the heavy cleistogene could be critical for population persistence, acting analogously to the axillary bud bank of other perennial grasses. Essentially, a bud bank is a population of dormant buds that allows a plant to regrow after disturbances, such as grazing or fire. The research also notes that larger tillers (the individual plants in a grass clump) produced heavier cleistogenes, suggesting that environmental conditions promoting plant growth can affect the reproductive strategy and success of Danthonia compressa. This indicates an intricate link between environment, plant size, and reproductive tactics. Cheplick concludes:  Analysis of the patterns of CH and CL reproduction in the native perennial grass D. compressa showed spatial and temporal variation in the two reproductive modes over a 5-year period. Relative to CH reproduction, fecundity, seed mass and biomass allocation were less variable for CL reproduction from year to year. Axillary CL seeds and especially the large basal cleistogene were much heavier than CH seeds made on terminal panicles. Also, both axillary CL seed production and cleistogene mass increased with increasing tiller mass and matured later in the season than CH seeds. The undispersed CL seeds are likely to be important to seedling establishment within the maternal habitat and could function to maintain populations, especially along woodland edges where this species mostly occurs. Cheplick 2023 READ THE ARTICLE Cheplick, G.P. (2023) “Spatiotemporal variation of chasmogamy and cleistogamy in a native perennial grass: fecundity, reproductive allocation and allometry,” AoB PLANTS, 15(3), p. lad020. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plad020. The post Reproduction for one American grass is an open and shut case appeared first on Botany One. via Botany One https://botany.one/ July 07, 2023 at 09:00AM

[evoldir]

Fwd: Course: Barcelona.GeometricsMorphometrics.Jul3-7

Begin forwarded message: > From: evoldir@evol.biology.mcmaster.ca > Subject: Course: Barcelona.GeometricsMorphometrics.Jul3-7 > Date: 14 April 2023 at 08:17:41 BST > To: rdmpage@gmail.com > > > Dear colleagues, > > Transmitting Science Onsite courses are back! > > Transmitting Science is organizing an ONSITE course on Introduction to > Geometric Morphometrics. > > Dates: July 3rd-7th, 2023. > > Place: Museum of the Institut Catal� de Paleontologia M. C. (Sabadell, > Barcelona, Spain). > > Instructor: Dr. Chris Klingenberg (Manchester University, UK). > > Program: > Size and shape > Landmarks & data collection > Procrustes superimposition > Visualising shape changes > Principal component analysis > Distinguishing groups > Symmetry and asymmetry > Morphometrics in a messy world > Regression and allometry > Partial least squares: covariation between > Phylogeny & comparative methods > Short-presentations > > Software that will be used during the course: MorphoJ, TPS, ImageJ. > > More information: > https://ift.tt/MuoLT5A > or writing to courses@transmittingscience.com > > Best wishes > > Sole > > > Soledad De Esteban-Trivigno, PhD > Director > Transmitting Science > https://ift.tt/ySur1eQ > > Twitter @SoleDeEsteban > Orcid: https://ift.tt/gTGawj8 > > Under the provisions of current regulations on the protection of > personal data, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (GDPR), we > inform you that personal data and email address, collected from the data > subject will be used by TRANSMITTING SCIENCE SL to manage communications > through email and properly manage the professional relationship with > you. The data are obtained based on a contractual relationship or the > legitimate interest of the Responsible, likewise the data will be kept > as long as there is a mutual interest for it. The data will not be > communicated to third parties, except for legal obligations. We inform > you that you can request detailed information on the processing as well > as exercise your rights of access, rectification, portability and > deletion of your data and those of limitation and opposition to its > treatment by contacting Calle Gardenia, 2 Urb. Can Claramunt de Piera > CP: 08784 (Barcelona) or sending an email to > info@transmittingscience.com or > https://ift.tt/sOUKBLG. If you consider that > the processing does not comply with current legislation, you can > complain with the supervisory authority at www. aepd.es . > Confidentiality. - The content of this communication, as well as that of > all the attached documentation, is confidential and is addressed to the > addressee. If you are not the recipient, we request that you indicate > this to us and do not communicate its contents to third parties, > proceeding to its destruction. > > > Soledad De Esteban-Trivigno

[ikpress1]

COMPARISON OF VARIED FOREST INVENTORY METHODS AND OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR ESTIMATING ABOVE-GROUND BIOMASS IN MALAWI’S MIOMBO WOODLANDS |  Journal of Global Ecology and Environment

The methodologies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for assessing above-ground biomass (AGB) and carbon in Malawi's important REDD+ Miombo Forest Reserves were evaluated in this study. The following methodologies and SOPs were investigated using the Analysis of Variance statistical technique: I allometry, (ii) sample plot arrangement, and (iii) dendrometric measures. The allometric equations parameter substantially (P0.001) influenced AGB estimates and was the most significant contributor (97.95%) to the overall variance. Malawi has the highest AGB estimate (113.081.56 t/ha) according to its particular allometry. The Pan-Tropical/generalized allometric models, on the other hand, significantly underestimated AGB by 16.7% to 67.9%. Furthermore, the data show that different sample plot sizes had a substantial (P0.001) impact on AGB estimations. The plot size parameter, on the other hand, only accounted for 1.65% of the overall variance. In comparison to the 17.84m radius plot (66.121.61), the 20m radius plot has the greatest AGB (75.310.77). This means that the 17.84m radius plot size underestimated the AGB by 12.2 percent. However, despite the former yielding higher estimates of AGB (74.650.93 t/ha) than the latter (72.530.98 t/ha), results on dendrometric measurements revealed no significant (P>0.05) differences in AGB estimates between the use of diameter tape (D-tape) and calliper in measuring dbh of individual trees. This shows that using a calliper to measure dbh only overestimated AGB t/ha by 2.8 percent compared to using D-tape. As a result, the study suggests using local allometry and using a circular sample approach. Please see the link :- https://www.ikprress.org/index.php/JOGEE/article/view/7675

[a-botany-nerd]

https://a-botany-nerd.blogspot.com/2021/05/heterochronyallometry.html

從Gould的這個圖(clock model)開始, 我在大四第一篇專討就碰了Heterochrony和Allometry這兩個��.

十分好奇Gould是什麼樣個性的人. 每次為兩個詞在不同研究裡的意涵傷腦筋時, 就會覺得"我承認你是天才, 但把事情搞亂也要算你一筆吧!!"

[notesontheory]

Allometry

Allometry = the finding that as organisms, cities, and companies grow, many of their characteristics scale nonlinearly.

Allometric scaling is any change that deviates from isometry

the study of the relationship of body size to shape,[1]anatomy, physiology and finally behaviour,[2] first outlined by Otto Snell in 1892,[3] by D'Arcy Thompson in 1917 in On Growth and Form[4] and by Julian Huxley in 1932.[5]