| Abstract: | The geographic expression of inter-regional morphological variation in Xiphophora gladiata ssp. gladiata was examined using a combination of discriminant function analyses, canonical correlation analysis and linear regression analysis. The pattern of that expression is an irregularly-stepped cline over scales of hundreds of kilometers, superimposed on a weak complex of microclines driven by exposure and (perhaps) other locally-varying environmental factors. The large-scale irregular cline is probably a response to the physico-chemical characteristics of regional water masses. |
