Shapes of the Abdomen Between Sexes in Two Geographically Isolated Populations of Rana Ranina Using Landmark-Based Geometric Morphometrics and Multivariate Statistics

This study was conducted to describe and compare the shapes of the abdomen between sexes in two geographically isolated populations of Rana ranina using landmark-based geometric morphometrics and multivariate statistics. The results showed that asymmetry was common among the sampled crabs; however, PCA-implied deformations revealed higher fluctuating asymmetry levels among female crabs collected from Siargao compared to those from Sacol. Although further studies are still warranted, the results could spell possible differences in the crab’s response to different environmental realities between Siargao and Sacol. A glaring result also from this research was the apparent preponderance of asymmetrical structures in nature and the rarity of the symmetry. 

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