Research Training Program

This is the first study utilizing serial morphometrics, the application of morphometrics to a series of any type, in an attempt to discover the quantitative differences through the series of elements. The vertebral column of a juvenile female Mesoplodon europaeus was used, and two morphometric methods tested - Resistant Fit Theta Rho Analysis (RFTRA) and the Booksteinian method. Although useful in pointing out changes in some areas, both were found inadequate to accurately demonstrate trends along the entire vertebral column, particularly trends in specific processes or areas of the vertebrae rather than a general quantitative difference between the vertebrae. The information needed is quantitative data on how much a certain section of the vertebra is different from that section on the vertebrae anterior and posterior to it, in order to find and describe trends which occur as one moves through the vertebal column. A new, although untested, method is proposed as a promising alternative which would allow specific changes to be quantitatively evaluated and compared to find trends in the vertebral column of a single specimen. It is possible this could be used to define a trend for an entire species, which could then be compared to the trend of another species, providing insight into specific differences in vertebral anatomy between species.