caa a22 4500 463255240 CHVBK 20180405153353.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170326e20070801xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s00435-007-0036-2 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s00435-007-0036-2 Sample size and sampling error in geometric morphometric studies of size and shape [Elektronische Daten] [Andrea Cardini, Sarah Elton] Geometric morphometric studies are increasingly becoming common in systematics and palaeontology. The samples in such studies are often small, due to the paucity of material available for analysis. However, very few studies have tried to assess the impact of sampling error on analytical results. Here, this issue is addressed empirically using repeated randomized selection experiments to build progressively smaller samples from an original dataset of ∼400 vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) skulls. Size and shape parameters (including mean size and shape, size and shape variances, angles of allometric trajectories) that are commonly used in geometric morphometric studies, are estimated first in the original sample and then in the random subsamples. Estimates are then compared to give an indication of what is the minimum desirable sample size for each parameter. Mean size, standard deviation of size and variance of shape are found to be fairly accurate even in relatively small samples. In contrast, mean shapes and angles between static allometric trajectories are strongly affected by sampling error. If confirmed in other groups, our findings may have substantial implications for studies of morphological variation in present and fossil species. By performing rarefaction analyses like those presented in our study, morphometricians can be easily provided with important clues on how a simple but crucial factor like sample size can alter results of their studies. Springer-Verlag, 2007 Accuracy nationallicence Geometric morphometrics nationallicence Primates nationallicence Randomization nationallicence Sampling error nationallicence Cardini Andrea Museo di Paleobiologia e dell'Orto Botanico, Universitá di Modena e Reggio Emilia, via Università 4, 41100, Modena, Italy aut Elton Sarah Hull York Medical School, The University of Hull, Cottingham Road, HU6 7RX, Hull, UK aut Zoomorphology Springer-Verlag 126/2(2007-08-01), 121-134 0720-213X 126:2<121 2007 126 435 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-007-0036-2 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-007-0036-2 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Cardini Andrea Museo di Paleobiologia e dell'Orto Botanico, Universitá di Modena e Reggio Emilia, via Università 4, 41100, Modena, Italy aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Elton Sarah Hull York Medical School, The University of Hull, Cottingham Road, HU6 7RX, Hull, UK aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Zoomorphology Springer-Verlag 126/2(2007-08-01), 121-134 0720-213X 126:2<121 2007 126 435 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer