Multidimensional analysis of diatom morphologic and morphometric phenotypic variation and relation to niche

Abstract

There have been few past studies of relationships between phenotypic variation and population niche. In this study phenotypic variation was separated in to morphometric and morphologic variation which was related to niche for foruteen diatoms using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). The degree of environmental influence was explored further via fuzzy coding of the variables and analyzed by a second CCA. Overall, the relationship between phenotypic variation and niche breadth varied on a dimension-by-dimension basis. Generally, morphometric characters of diatoms were influenced by genetic factors, while morphologic characters were environmentally influenced. CCA prove to be a useful method to depict relationships between phenotypic variation and niche.