Estimating sexual dimorphism by method‐of‐moments
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18934640 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Steven C Josephson (University of Utah, corresponding author), Kenneth E Juell (University of Utah), A R Rogers (0000-0003-3987-3346, University of Utah) |
| Year | 1996 |
| Volume | 100 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 191-206 |
| Publication date | 1996-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(199606)100:2<191::aid-ajpa3>3.3.co;2-0 |
| OpenAlex | W4253060721 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
Estimating the degree of sexual dimorphism is difficult in fossil species because most specimens lack indicators of sex. We present a procedure that estimates sexual dimorphism in samples of unknown sex using method-of-moments. We assume that the distribution of a metric trait is composed of two underlying normal distributions, one for males and one for females. We use three moments around the mean of the combined-sex distribution to estimate the means and the common standard deviation of the two underlying distributions. This procedure has advantages over previous methods: it is relatively simple to use, specimens need not be assigned to sex a priori, no reference to living species analogs is required, and the method provides conservative estimates of dimorphism under a variety of conditions. The method performs best when the male and female distributions overlap minimally but also works well when overlap is substantial. Simulations indicate that this relatively simple method is more accurate and reliable than previous methods for estimating dimorphism. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc
A priori and a posteriori · Biology · Metric (unit) · Sexual dimorphism · Standard deviation · Statistics · Trait · Zoology · Computer Science · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Mathematics · Morphological variations and asymmetry · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,07 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2012 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |