Quantitative comparison of taxa and taxon concepts in the diatom genus Fragilariopsis: a case study on using slide scanning, multiexpert image annotation, and image analysis in taxonomy1

Semiautomated methods for microscopic image acquisition, image analysis, and taxonomic identification have repeatedly received attention in diatom analysis. Less well studied is the question whether and how such methods might prove useful for clarifying the delimitation of species that are difficult...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Phycology
Main Authors: Beszteri, Bank, Allen, Claire, Almandoz, Gaston Osvaldo, Armand, Leanne, Barcena, María Ángeles, Cantzler, Hannelore, Crosta, Xavier, Esper, Oliver, Jordan, Richard W., Rigual Hernández, Andrés S., Klaas, Christine, Kloster, Michael, Leventer, Amy, Pike, Jennifer
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley Blackwell Publishing, Inc
Subjects:
AUTOMATIC DIATOM IDENTIFICATION
BACILLARIOPHYTA
HIGH THROUGHPUT MICROSCOPY
IMAGE ANALYSIS
MORPHOMETRICS
SHERPA
TAXONOMIC AGREEMENT
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Southern Ocean
Argentina
Gaston
antartic*
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/132083
Description
Summary:Semiautomated methods for microscopic image acquisition, image analysis, and taxonomic identification have repeatedly received attention in diatom analysis. Less well studied is the question whether and how such methods might prove useful for clarifying the delimitation of species that are difficult to separate for human taxonomists. To try to answer this question, three very similar Fragilariopsis species endemic to the Southern Ocean were targeted in this study: F. obliquecostata, F. ritscheri, and F. sublinearis. A set of 501 extended focus depth specimen images were obtained using a standardized, semiautomated microscopic procedure. Twelve diatomists independently identified these specimen images in order to reconcile taxonomic opinions and agree upon a taxonomic gold standard. Using image analyses, we then extracted morphometric features representing taxonomic characters of the target taxa. The discriminating ability of individual morphometric features was tested visually and statistically, and multivariate classification experiments were performed to test the agreement of the quantitatively defined taxa assignments with expert consensus opinion. Beyond an updated differential diagnosis of the studied taxa, our study also shows that automated imaging and image analysis procedures for diatoms are coming close to reaching a broad applicability for routine use. Fil: Beszteri, Bank. Alfred-Wegener-Institut. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar und Meeresforschung; Alemania Fil: Allen, Claire. British Antartic Survey; Reino Unido Fil: Almandoz, Gaston Osvaldo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Ficología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina Fil: Armand, Leanne. The Australian National University; Australia Fil: Barcena, María Ángeles. Universidad de Salamanca; España Fil: Cantzler, Hannelore. Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung; ...

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