Ecophenotypic variation in Mutilus pumilus (Ostracoda) from Australia, studied by canonical variate analysis and tensor biometrics

Abstract. Ecophenotypic variation in the ornament of living Mutilus pumilus from Australia may be related to seasonal temperature differences along the southern coasts. Standard methods of statistical analysis identify geographical differences in the morphology of the data, but are inadequate for analysing the complex patterns of shape variability in the species. Geometric morphometric methods localised the more important changes in shape in both the outline of the shell and in the configuration of the ornament.