Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Global Climate Change

Global Climate Change

Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.

The Fossil Record

The Fossil Record

The fossil record documents only a small fraction of all organisms that have ever inhabited Earth. Fossilization is a rare process, and most organisms never become fossils. Moreover, the fossil record only exhibits fossils that have been discovered. Nevertheless, sedimentary rock fossils of long-lived, abundant, hard-bodied organisms dominate the fossil record. These fossils offer valuable information, such as an organism's physical form, behavior, and age. Studying the fossil record helps...

What is Evolutionary History?

What is Evolutionary History?

Scientists record evolutionary history by analyzing fossil, morphological, and genetic data. The fossil record documents the history of life on Earth and provides evidence for evolution. However, both fossil and living organisms offer evidence that outlines Earth’s evolutionary history.

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...

Diversity of Protists III

Diversity of Protists III

Rhizaria are a diverse group of unicellular protists characterized by their threadlike cytoplasmic extensions known as pseudopodia. These structures aid in both locomotion and feeding, giving Rhizaria an amoeboid appearance. Their amoeboid morphology once led to taxonomic confusion, but molecular phylogenetics has clarified their evolutionary placement and emphasized their shared use of pseudopodia despite divergent lineages.This clade comprises diverse lineages such as Chlorarachniophyta,...

Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Global Data From Great Ape Zoo Populations Confirm a High Prevalence of Overweight Individuals.

American journal of primatology·2026

Same author

Amphibian Intestine Allometry.

Journal of morphology·2026

Same author

No systematic difference in obesity susceptibility between two groups of zoo primates with distinct digestive physiologies: hindgut-fermenting lemurs and foregut-fermenting colobines.

Primates; journal of primatology·2026

Same author

Aging populations threaten conservation goals of zoos.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Chewing performance and the structure of primate communities.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026

Same author

Breeding seasonality of Tylopoda: Expected patterns in Old World camelids but an exceptional pattern in South American camelids.

PloS one·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 23, 2025

Author Spotlight: Leaf Trait Analysis for Climate and Ecology Reconstruction in Modern and Ancient Plant Communities

Author Spotlight: Leaf Trait Analysis for Climate and Ecology Reconstruction in Modern and Ancient Plant Communities

Published on: October 25, 2024

Bio- and paleoreconstructions: Correlates and proxies.

Marcus Clauss¹

¹Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife Vetsuisse Faculty University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland.

Ecology and Evolution

|August 25, 2021

Summary

Researchers often use proxy measures for biological traits without assessing their accuracy. This practice in paleontology and biology needs careful consideration of discriminatory power.

Area of Science:

Paleontology
Biology
Quantitative Biology

Background:

Measures correlating with specific traits are frequently employed as proxies in biological and paleontological research.
The assessment of the discriminatory power of these proxy measures is often lacking a clear conceptual framework.

Purpose of the Study:

To highlight the potential pitfalls of using proxy measures without rigorous validation.
To caution researchers in paleontology and biology regarding the assessment of trait proxies.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis of measurement practices in paleontology and biology.
Review of the application of proxy measures for biological traits.

Main Results:

The discriminatory power of many commonly used proxy measures is not clearly defined or assessed.

More Related Videos

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions

Published on: March 31, 2023

Multimodal Optical Microscopy Methods Reveal Polyp Tissue Morphology and Structure in Caribbean Reef Building Corals

Multimodal Optical Microscopy Methods Reveal Polyp Tissue Morphology and Structure in Caribbean Reef Building Corals

Published on: September 5, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 23, 2025

Author Spotlight: Leaf Trait Analysis for Climate and Ecology Reconstruction in Modern and Ancient Plant Communities

Author Spotlight: Leaf Trait Analysis for Climate and Ecology Reconstruction in Modern and Ancient Plant Communities

Published on: October 25, 2024

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions

Published on: March 31, 2023

Multimodal Optical Microscopy Methods Reveal Polyp Tissue Morphology and Structure in Caribbean Reef Building Corals

Multimodal Optical Microscopy Methods Reveal Polyp Tissue Morphology and Structure in Caribbean Reef Building Corals

Published on: September 5, 2014

This lack of assessment can lead to inaccurate interpretations of biological and paleontological data.

Conclusions:

Researchers must critically evaluate the discriminatory power of proxy measures before their application.
Standardized methods for assessing trait proxies are needed to ensure scientific rigor in paleontology and biology.