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Published on: November 2, 2012
Classical and dynamic morphology: toward a synthesis through the space of forms
Bernard Jeune1, Denis Barabé, Christian Lacroix
1Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Jardin botanique de Montréal, Université de Montréal, 4101 rue Sherbrooke est, Montréal, QC, Canada. bernard.jeune@snv.jussieu.fr
Acta Biotheoretica
|May 9, 2007
Summary
Classical plant morphology categorizes organs, but intermediate structures challenge this. A new theoretical morphospace integrates diverse plant forms, showing dynamic morphology encompasses typology as a subclass.
Area of Science:
- Plant Morphology
- Theoretical Biology
- Evolutionary Botany
Background:
- Classical plant morphology relies on pre-established organ categories, which struggle to classify intermediate structures.
- Existing typological approaches may not fully capture the diversity of plant organ forms.
- A unified framework is needed to integrate varied plant morphologies and understand relationships between different classification methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To construct a theoretical morphospace for calculating morphological distances between plant organs.
- To test if classical (typological) and dynamic morphology occupy the same theoretical morphospace.
- To investigate the role of character weighting in distinguishing between typological and continuum-based morphological approaches.
Main Methods:
- Developed a theoretical morphospace based on various character modalities for plant organs, focusing on shoots, leaves, leaflets, and trichomes.
- Generated a theoretical data table of shoot character combinations and applied Principal Component Analysis (PCA).
- Positioned typical and atypical plant structures within the morphospace to analyze their relationships.
Main Results:
- The morphospace successfully positions diverse plant organs, with atypical structures located further from the shoot barycenter.
- Weighting characters for classical typology results in distinct organ categories, while equal weighting reveals a continuum.
- Intermediate structures are compatible with dynamic morphology, regardless of weighting, highlighting its broader applicability.
Conclusions:
- Dynamic morphology, particularly with equal character weighting, provides a more inclusive framework than classical typology.
- Typology and continuum represent sub-classes of the broader 'process' or dynamic morphology concept.
- The study demonstrates that weighting criteria determine whether morphological analysis yields discrete categories or a continuum.
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