Geometric morphometrics as a tool for improving the comparative study of behavioural postures.

Area of Science:

• Ethology and Biomechanics
• Quantitative Morphology

Background:

• Objective posture analysis is crucial for behavioral studies but often limited by subjectivity or reliance on few key elements.
• Existing methods struggle with phylogenetical, populational, and individual-level comparisons of animal postures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel, objective approach for global posture analysis using geometric morphometrics.
• To apply this method to characterize horse behaviors and assess environmental influences on their postures.

Main Methods:

• Utilized geometric morphometrics, a technique analyzing shape variation using homologous landmark coordinates.
• Applied the method to analyze global horse postures, considering the entire body form.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated that geometric morphometrics can effectively characterize distinct behavioral categories in horses, linked to arousal levels.
• Showed the method's capability in evaluating the impact of environmental factors, such as human actions, on postures.
• Confirmed the utility for comparing individual and group postures.

Conclusions:

• Geometric morphometrics provides a robust, objective framework for comprehensive posture analysis in ethology.
• This approach has broad applicability beyond horses, including research on evolutionary displays, emotions, stress, welfare, and behavioral repertoires.