Application of image analysis software to the morphometrics of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile and Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson
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Sante F. Rende
Abstract
Leaf biometrics are important parameters of seagrasses measured in coastal marine environment-monitoring programs. This study tested the application of several image analysis software packages to the biometry of Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa leaves as an alternative to the commonly used manual technique. The biometrics of leaves and epiphytes measured using Image-Pro Plus image analysis software were significantly different from measures made with the manual technique; this was a reflection of the precision of the digital measurements related to the application of “best fit” measures to the shape of the leaves. Among the advantages of the digital method, we found enhanced precision and, presumably, higher accuracy in measurement, faster time of execution, availability of a wide range of free software for image analysis, the permanence of a photographic record, the ability to create data bases to compare new samples with older ones, and the possibility of analysing different morphometric variables on the same sample after a long period of time.
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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- Masthead
- Masthead
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- New record of Sargassum denticarpum Ajisaka (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) from Iriomote Island (Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan)
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- Short Communications
- Application of image analysis software to the morphometrics of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile and Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson
- Delayed modifications in plant-water relations in the coastal marsh halophyte Spartina patens following sudden increases in soil salinity
- Algicidal activity and potential antifouling defenses in macroalgae from the western Antarctic Peninsula including probable synergistic effects of multiple compounds
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Research Articles
- Fucoid assemblages on the north coast of Spain: past and present (1977–2007)
- New record of Sargassum denticarpum Ajisaka (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) from Iriomote Island (Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan)
- Seasonal periodicity and reproduction of brown algae (Phaeophyceae) at Puerto Deseado (Patagonia)
- Determining bathymetric distributions of the eelgrass Zostera marina L. in three turbid estuaries on the eastern North Pacific coast
- Morphological and molecular evidence demonstrates the amphi-Atlantic distribution of Laurencia catarinensis (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta)
- Effects of temperature, salinity, irradiance, and nutrients on the development of carposporelings and tetrasporophytes in Gracilaria domingensis (Kütz.) Sonder ex Dickie (Rhodophyta, Gracilariales)
- A novel method for phosphoprotein extraction from macroalgae
- Antioxidants in mangrove plants and endophytic fungal associations
- The marine halophytes Carpobrotus edulis L. and Arthrocnemum macrostachyum L. are potential sources of nutritionally important PUFAs and metabolites with antioxidant, metal chelating and anticholinesterase inhibitory activities
- Culture medium optimization and lipid profiling of Cylindrotheca, a lipid- and polyunsaturated fatty acid-rich pennate diatom and potential source of eicosapentaenoic acid
- Short Communications
- Application of image analysis software to the morphometrics of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile and Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson
- Delayed modifications in plant-water relations in the coastal marsh halophyte Spartina patens following sudden increases in soil salinity
- Algicidal activity and potential antifouling defenses in macroalgae from the western Antarctic Peninsula including probable synergistic effects of multiple compounds
