Lee Andrew H., Huttenlocker Adam K., Padian Kevin, and Woodward Holly N.
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780520273528
- eISBN:
- 9780520955110
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520273528.003.0008
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology: Biology
This chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various types of growth measurements including mass, length, time, and osteohistological texture. It explains the intensity of measurement, ...
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This chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various types of growth measurements including mass, length, time, and osteohistological texture. It explains the intensity of measurement, and how sampling intensity can limit the types of questions addressed by growth data but can also clarify longstanding misconceptions such as “indeterminate” growth. The chapter reviews the mathematical description of growth data using models, as well as how a single model is selected from a set of plausible models, and provides examples using growth models and bone histology to show that analyses of relative growth can be equally informative as analyses of absolute growth. It concludes with recommendations for the standardization of paleobiological growth analyses.Less
This chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various types of growth measurements including mass, length, time, and osteohistological texture. It explains the intensity of measurement, and how sampling intensity can limit the types of questions addressed by growth data but can also clarify longstanding misconceptions such as “indeterminate” growth. The chapter reviews the mathematical description of growth data using models, as well as how a single model is selected from a set of plausible models, and provides examples using growth models and bone histology to show that analyses of relative growth can be equally informative as analyses of absolute growth. It concludes with recommendations for the standardization of paleobiological growth analyses.
