Identification and discrimination of Electrogena species by numerical methods (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae) |
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Authors: | C BELFIORE |
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Institution: | Dipartimento di Zoologia, Universitàdi Napoli, Italy |
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Abstract: | Abstract. Nine species of Electrogena from thirty-one populations were investigated on the basis of five meristic and five ratio characters of the larvae. The attribution of populations to species was checked by a cluster analysis based on the generalized distances between pairs. Groups representing species were then subjected to a multiple discriminant analysis; discriminant functions and loadings were calculated. The correct attribution of individuals to species by the discriminant functions ranged from 97% to 100%. The analysis of discriminant loadings shows which characters contribute more to the discrimination of species. Although many species could be identified with some confidence by a sequential monothetic key based on meristic and qualitative characters, the discriminant analysis improves the effectiveness of identification of all species. |
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