ArticlePloS one2014
Assessing trait covariation and morphological integration on phylogenies using evolutionary covariance matrices.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 65 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
65 citing papers in PubMed.
- Research Trends, Hotspots and Future Perspectives of Geometric Morphometrics in Entomology: A Scientometric Review.Insects · 2026Review
- Evolutionary modularity of the primate vestibular system: Morphological distinction of otolithic and canalicular organs.PNAS nexus · 2026Article
- Intraspecific Variation in Life Cycle Impacts the Morphology of Alpine Newts.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Article
- Evolutionary trends in the vertebral morphology of extant Delphinidae.BMC ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Building a predator: macroevolutionary patterns in the skull of abelisaurid dinosaurs.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Cranial modularity drives phenotypic diversification and adaptive radiation of Antarctic icefishes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Great expectations: altricial developmental strategies are associated with more flexible evolution of limb skeleton proportions in birds.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Macroevolutionary integration underlies limb modularity in the origin of avian flight.Biology letters · 2025Article
- Convergent evolution in Afrotheria and non-afrotherians demonstrates high evolvability of the mammalian inner ear.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Morphological variation, modularity and integration in the scapula and humerus of Lissotriton newts.Journal of anatomy · 2024Article
- Beyond CREA: Evolutionary patterns of non-allometric shape variation and divergence in a highly allometric clade of murine rodents.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- The evolution and genetic basis of a functionally critical skull bone, the parasphenoid, among Lake Malawi cichlids.Evolutionary journal of the Linnean Society · 2024Article
- Ecological correlates of cranial evolution in the megaradiation of dipsadine snakes.BMC ecology and evolution · 2023Article
- Article
- Semicircular canal shape diversity among modern lepidosaurs: life habit, size, allometry.BMC ecology and evolution · 2023Article
- Exploring the diversity of AVPR2 in Primates and its evolutionary implications.Genetics and molecular biology · 2023Article
- Protein-lipid Association in Lizard Chemical Signals.Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Cranial ecomorphology of turtles and neck retraction as a possible trigger of ecological diversification.Evolution; international journal of organic evolution · 2022Article
- Evolutionary integration and modularity in the diversity of the suckermouth armoured catfishes.Royal Society open science · 2022Article
- Evidence for an evo-devo-derived hypothesis on three-dimensional flower shape modularity in a tropical orchid clade.Evolution; international journal of organic evolution · 2022Article
5 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Morphological integration describes the degree to which sets of organismal traits covary with one another. Morphological covariation may be evaluated at various levels of biological organization, but when characterizing such patterns across species at the macroevolutionary level, phylogeny must be taken into account. We outline an analytical procedure based on the evolutionary covariance matrix that allows species-level patterns of morphological integration among structures defined by sets of traits to be evaluated while accounting for the phylogenetic relationships among taxa, providing a flexible and robust complement to related phylogenetic independent contrasts based approaches. Using computer simulations under a Brownian motion model we show that statistical tests based on the approach display appropriate Type I error rates and high statistical power for detecting known levels of integration, and these trends remain consistent for simulations using different numbers of species, and for simulations that differ in the number of trait dimensions. Thus, our procedure provides a useful means of testing hypotheses of morphological integration in a phylogenetic context. We illustrate the utility of this approach by evaluating evolutionary patterns of morphological integration in head shape for a lineage of Plethodon salamanders, and find significant integration between cranial shape and mandible shape. Finally, computer code written in R for implementing the procedure is provided.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.