Phenotypic integration and modularity are ubiquitous features of complex organisms,
describing the magnitude and pattern of relationships among biological traits. A key …

Morphological modularity arises in complex living beings due to a semi‐independent
inheritance, development, and function of body parts. Modularity helps us to understand the …

Phenotypic integration is a pervasive characteristic of organisms. Numerous analyses have
demonstrated that patterns of phenotypic integration are conserved across large clades, but …

The multiple skeletal components of the skull originate asynchronously and their
developmental schedule varies across amniotes. Here we present the embryonic …

Morphological integration and modularity are closely related concepts about how different
traits of an organism are correlated. Integration is the overall pattern of intercorrelation; …

Carnivory has evolved independently several times in eutherian (including placental) and
metatherian (including marsupial) mammals. We used geometric morphometrics to assess …

Angiosperm flowers have diversified in adaptation to pollinators, but are also shaped by
developmental and genetic histories. The relative importance of these factors in structuring …

Mammals show a very low level of variation in vertebral count, particularly in the neck.
Phenotypes exhibited at various stages during the development of the axial skeleton may …

Identification of phenotypic modules, semiautonomous sets of highly correlated traits, can be
accomplished through exploratory (eg, cluster analysis) or confirmatory approaches (eg, RV …

Complex structures, like the vertebrate skull, are composed of numerous elements or traits
that must develop and evolve in a coordinated manner to achieve multiple functions. The …