Relative Warp Analysis of Sexual Dimorphism in Body Shapes of the Silver Perch, Leiopotherapon plumbeus (Kner, 1864) of Lake Buluan in Mindanao, Philippines

摘要

Landmark-based geometric morphometrics was used to determine sexual dimorphism in body shapes of the Silver Perch, Leiopotherapon plumbeus (Kner, 1864), an economically important fish of Lake Buluan in Mindanao. A total of 600 images for both male and female were digitized with 20 landmarks each and subjected for analyses. Relative warps revealed that females exhibit stout body outline and have broader belly than males which have slender body outline and narrower belly. MANOVA also revealed significant body shape differences between sexes. The results of this study suggest that geometric morphometrics can visualize dimorphic traits that could be used for field identification in fishery management.