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Morphological Integration on the Calcaneum of Domestic Sheep (Ovis aries Linnaeus, 1758)—A Geometric Morphometric Study

Publicated to:Applied Sciences-Basel. 13 (7): 4177- - 2023-04-01 13(7), DOI: 10.3390/app13074177

Authors: Pares-Casanova, Pere Miquel; Rissech, Carme; Davis, Simon; Lloveras, Lluis

Affiliations

DGPC - Author
DGPC, Lab Arqueociencias, Calcada Mirante Ajuda 10A, P-1300418 Lisbon, Portugal - Author
Inst Catalana Hist Nat, Barcelona 08001, Spain - Author
Institució Catalana d'Història Natural - Author
Univ Barcelona, Dept Hist & Arqueol, Montalegre 6, Barcelona 08001, Spain - Author
Univ Rovira & Virgili, Dept Ciencies Med Basiques, Human Anat Unit, Fac Med & Ciencies Salut, St Llorenc 21, Reus 43201, Spain - Author
Universitat de Barcelona - Author
Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Facultat de Medicina i Ciencies de la Salut - Author
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Abstract

Morphological integration and modularity refer to the degree of covariation between the different components of an anatomical structure. Modularity refers to structures that have components which covary strongly, but at the same time are relatively independent. Integration refers to the coordinated variation of the components of a functional anatomical structure. The hindlimb basipodium is a complex functional structure. The integration of its parts must arise from a coordinated development and functionality. Our objective in this study was to study the levels of integration of two modules on the calcaneum in domestic sheep. The calcaneum develops from two different centres. One gives rise to the body and its process while the other gives rise to the distal half of the bone. The hypothesis of modularity of two parts of the calcaneum was tested using the Escoufier RV coefficient and an analysis of two blocks of Partial Least Squares. These allowed us to evaluate the level of morphological integration. For this purpose, digital images of the medial aspect of complete calcanea of 47 domestic sheep (Ovis aries) were used. Twenty 2D coordinates of homologous anatomical landmarks (4 for the body and the process and 16 for the distal half of the bone) were collected as morphometric data. These were studied using geometric morphometrics. The results indicated good evidence of modular organization and a medium morphological integration between the two modules. Thus, according to our results, the two modules seem to exist and behave in a rather independent way. They appear to share functions rather than precursors of development. This study is important in order to elucidate the underlying factors in the processes of the development of the sheep calcaneum.

Keywords
modularityontogenysheepsmall ruminantstarsusBasipodiumModularityOntogenySheepSmall ruminantsTarsus

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Applied Sciences-Basel due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 44/181, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Engineering, Multidisciplinary.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 3.31, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions May 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-05-23, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 2
  • Scopus: 2
  • OpenCitations: 1
Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-05-23:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 7.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 7 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 3.45.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 5 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Portugal.