Author(s): Virgilio B Ratunil, Clevin P Libay, Emmylou A Borja, Gideon A Ebarsabal, Gregorio Z Gamboa, Dexter Q Mahomoc, Jerry B Manongas and Cresencio C Cabuga

Abstract: Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA) is a tool to assess morphological differences from different bioindicator species. This study was conducted to evaluate the body shape variation of Glossogobius giuris sampled from Lake Mainit, Philippines, using geometric morphometrics. A total of 60 specimens was collected with 30 each sex. Landmarking techniques were established and applied to the fish morphology. Samples were subjected to tps Util and Symmetry and Asymmetry Geometric Data (SAGE) software to identify the body shape analysis. Among the factors analyzed, Procrustes ANOVA results shown a highly significant difference (P<0.0001) in the female and male samples and thus, indicating a shape differences between the sexes. While Principal Component Analysis (PCA) displayed a higher percentage in female samples (83.1614%) than of the male (79.3984%) denoting body shape variations between the populations indeed, females are highly inclined to perturbations since they need a buffer from various environmental requirements and primarily through the reproduction process. Thus utilizing geometric morphometric enables to determine morphological variations of species among and within the taxa.

Pages: 287-294  |  1001 Views  274 Downloads

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