William L. Jungers

Bio: William L. Jungers is an academic researcher from Stony Brook University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Lemur & Archaeolemur. The author has an hindex of 63, co-authored 180 publications receiving 13126 citations. Previous affiliations of William L. Jungers include State University of New York System.

Shape, relative size, and size‐adjustments in morphometrics

Abstract: Many problems in comparative biology and biological anthropology require meaningful definitions of “relative size” and “shape” Here we review the distinguishing features of ratios and residuals and their relationships to other methods of “size-adjustment” for continuous data Eleven statistical techniques are evaluated in reference to one broadly interspecific data set (craniometries of adult Old World monkeys) and one narrowly intraspecific data set (anthropometries of adult Native American males) Three different types of residuals are compared to three versions of shape ratios, and these are contrasted to “cscores,” Penrose shape, and multivariate adjustments based on the first principal component of the logged variance-covariance matrix; all methods are also compared to raw and logged raw data In order to help us identify appropriate; methods for size-adjustment, geometrically similar or “isometric” versions of the male vervet and the Inuit male were created by scalar multiplication of all variables The geometric mean of all variables is used as overall “size” throughout this investigation, but our conclusions would be the same for most other size variables Residual adjustments failed to correctly identify individuals of the same shape in both sampkles Like residuals, cscores are also sample-specific and incorrectly attribute different shape values to individuals known to be identical in shape Multivariate “residuals” (eg, discarding the first principal component and Burnaby's method) are plagued by similar problems If one of the goals of an analysis is to identify individuals (OTUs) of the same shape after accounting for overalll size differences, then none of these methods can be recommended We also reject the assertion that size-adjusted variables should be unciorrelated with size of “size-free”; rather, whether or not shape covaries with size is an important empirical determination in any analysis Without explicit similarity criteria, “lines of subtraction” can be very misleading Only variables in the Mosimann family of shape rations allowed us to identify sized individuals of the same shape (“Iso-OUTs”) Residuals from isometric lines in logarithmic space, projections of logged data to a plane orthogonal to an isometric vector, and Penrose shape distance based on logged data are also part of this shape family Shape defined in this manner can be significantly correlated with size in allometric data sets (eg, guenon craniometrics); ratio shape differences may be largely independent of size in narrowly intraspecific or intrasexual data sets (eg, Native American anthropometrics) Log-transformations of shape variables are not always necessary or desirable We hope our findings enciourage other workers to question the assumptions and utility of residuals as size-adjusted data and to explore shape and relative size within Mosimann's explicitly geometric framework © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Arboreality and bipedality in the Hadar hominids.

Abstract: Numerous studies of the locomotor skeleton of the Hadar hominids have revealed traits indicative of both arboreal climbing/suspension and terrestrial bipedalism. These earliest known hominids must have devoted part of their activities to feeding, sleeping and/or predator avoidance in trees, while also spending time on the ground where they moved bipedally. In this paper we offer new data on phalangeal length and curvature, moφhology of the tarsus and metatarsophalangeal joints, and body proportions that further strengthen the argument for arboreality in the Hadar hominids. We also provide additional evidence on limb and pedal proportions and on the functional anatomy of the hip, knee and foot, indicating that the bipedality practiced at Hadar differed from that of modern humans. Consideration of the ecology at Hadar, in conjunction with modern primate models, supports the notion of arboreality in these earliest australopithecines. We speculate that selection for terrestrial bipedality may have intensified through the Plio-Pleistocene as forests and woodland patches shrunk and the need arose to move increasingly longer distances on the ground. Only with Homo erectus might body size, culture and other factors have combined to ‘release’ hominids from their dependence on trees.

Size and scaling in primate biology

Abstract: In very general terms, "scaling" can be defined as the structural and func- tional consequences of differences in size (or scale) among organisms of more or less similar design. Interest in certain aspects of body size and scaling in primate biology (e. g. , relative brain size) dates to the turn of the century, and scientific debate and dialogue on numerous aspects of this general subject have continued to be a primary concern of primatologists, physical an- thropologists, and other vertebrate biologists up to the present. Indeed, the intensity and scope of such research on primates have grown enormously in the past decade or so. Information continues to accumulate rapidly from many different sources, and the task of synthesizing the available data and theories on any given topic is becoming increasingly formidable. In addition to the formal exchange of new ideas and information among scientific experts in specific areas of scaling research, two of the major goals of this volume are an assessment of our progress toward understanding various size-related phe- nomena in primates and the identification of future prospects for continuing advances in this realm. Although the subject matter and specific details of the issues considered in the 20 chapters that follow are very diversified, all topics share the same fundamental and unifying biological theme: body size variation in primates and its implications for behavior and ecology, anatomy and physiology, and evolution.

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Abstract: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

Human biochemical genetics

Abstract: So far in this course we have dealt entirely with the evolution of characters that are controlled by simple Mendelian inheritance at a single locus. There are notes on the course website about gametic disequilibrium and how allele frequencies change at two loci simultaneously, but we didn’t discuss them. In every example we’ve considered we’ve imagined that we could understand something about evolution by examining the evolution of a single gene. That’s the domain of classical population genetics. For the next few weeks we’re going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach we’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery. If you know a little about the history of evolutionary biology, you may know that after the rediscovery of Mendel’s work in 1900 there was a heated debate between the “biometricians” (e.g., Galton and Pearson) and the “Mendelians” (e.g., de Vries, Correns, Bateson, and Morgan). Biometricians asserted that the really important variation in evolution didn’t follow Mendelian rules. Height, weight, skin color, and similar traits seemed to

Comparative analysis of

Abstract: Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the protocol backing the core routing decisions on the Internet. It maintains a table of IP networks or 'prefixes' which designate network reachability among autonomous systems (AS). Point of concern in BGP is its lack of effective security measures which makes Internet vulnerable to different forms of attacks. Many solutions have been proposed till date to combat BGP security issues but not a single one is deployable in practical scenario. Any security proposal with optimal solution should offer adequate security functions, performance overhead and deployment cost. This paper critically analyzes the deployment issues of best three proposals considering trade-off between security functions and performance overhead.

Geometric morphometrics: Ten years of progress following the ‘revolution’

Abstract: The analysis of shape is a fundamental part of much biological research. As the field of statistics developed, so have the sophistication of the analysis of these types of data. This lead to multivariate morphometrics in which suites of measurements were analyzed together using canonical variates analysis, principal components analysis, and related methods. In the 1980s, a fundamental change began in the nature of the data gathered and analyzed. This change focused on the coordinates of landmarks and the geometric information about their relative positions. As a by-product of such an approach, results of multivariate analyses could be visualized as configurations of landmarks back in the original space of the organism rather than only as statistical scatter plots. This new approach, called “geometric morphometrics”, had benefits that lead Rohlf and Marcus (1993) to proclaim a “revolution” in morphometrics. In this paper, we briefly update the discussion in that paper and summarize the advances in the ten years since the paper by Rohlf and Marcus. We also speculate on future directions in morphometric analysis.