Q-Factor Analysis as a Tool for Phylogenetic Studies of Morphometric Data

The statistical procedure of Q-factor analysis was applied with the aim to detect complex morphological characters, which clearly separate taxonomic groups. Since Q-factor analysis, unlike cluster analysis, does not prescribe a hierarchical grouping, the results can be interpreted phylogenetically using an outgroup comparison. The essential steps of the approach are demonstrated by an empirical study on the phylogeny of Callitrichinae. Except for some complications concerning the determination of the number of relevant factors and factor rotation, the procedure proved to be a suitable instrument for phylogenetic research.

Biology · Cluster (spacecraft) · Cluster analysis · Computational biology · Evolutionary biology · Factor (programming language) · Gene · Hierarchical clustering · Outgroup · Phylogenetic tree · Phylogenetics · Statistical analysis · Statistics · Computer Science · Genetic diversity and population structure · Genetics · Mathematics · Morphological variations and asymmetry · Paleontology · Plant and animal studies