What does this research mean for the field?

The AutoMorph high-throughput imaging pipeline successfully extracts morphometric measurements and coordinate data from ostracod valves, reducing processing time and subjective bias compared to manual approaches. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.METHODOLOGICAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

The research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the AutoMorph imaging pipeline for analyzing the morphology of non-marine ostracods.

May 20, 2026Journal of Micropalaeontology0 citationsOpen Access

Testing the applicability of automated size and shape analyses in non-marine ostracods – a case study from the Tibetan Plateau

MHMarlene HoehleUniversitätsmedizin Greifswald THTorsten HaberzettlUniversitätsmedizin Greifswald PFPeter FrenzelFriedrich Schiller University Jena

Key Points

The research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the AutoMorph imaging pipeline for analyzing the morphology of non-marine ostracods.
Implemented AutoMorph for high-throughput morphometric data extraction from ostracod valves.
Analyzed two ostracod species from six lakes on the Tibetan Plateau.
Compared data acquisition time and biases of automated versus traditional methods.
AutoMorph successfully extracted morphometric and coordinate data, reducing processing time significantly.
Automated methods minimized subjective bias compared to manual approaches.
Facilitated generation of extensive datasets for comprehensive ecological and evolutionary investigations.

Abstract

Abstract. Evolutionary developmental biology seeks to elucidate the developmental mechanisms underlying phenotypic evolution. Central to this endeavor is the quantitative analysis of morphological variation, for which morphometric approaches have become indispensable tools. While morphometric methods have been extensively applied in paleontological research across diverse fossil groups, certain taxa remain underexplored. Among these, ostracods (Crustacea) represent a particularly promising yet underutilized group for such analyses. The suitability of ostracods for evolutionary and developmental investigations stems from several key attributes: their near-ubiquitous distribution across aquatic habitats, a remarkable taxonomic and morphological diversity, and an exceptional fossil record spanning geological time scales. Traditional morphometric approaches are constrained by the time-intensive nature of data acquisition, limiting the extent of achievable datasets. To address this bottleneck, we evaluate the efficacy of AutoMorph, a high-throughput imaging pipeline, for automated extraction of size and shape data from ostracod valves. We apply this approach to two ostracod species, Leucocythere dorsotuberosa and Leucocytherella sinensis, sampled from six lakes across the Tibetan Plateau, a region offering aquatic ecosystems with high endemism, providing an ideal setting for investigating ecological and evolutionary responses through morphological approaches. Our findings demonstrate that the AutoMorph pipeline successfully extracts morphometric measurements and coordinate data from ostracod valves, substantially reducing processing time while minimizing subjective bias inherent in manual approaches. This methodological advancement facilitates the generation of extensive datasets, thereby enabling more comprehensive investigations of ecological and evolutionary processes on large spatial and temporal scales.

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