Sains Malaysiana 45(10)(2016): 1413–1422

The Significance of Wing and Body Morphometry in Discriminating Six Species of Eurema Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) of Peninsular Malaysia

(Kepentingan Morfometri Sayap dan Badan dalam Membezakan Enam Spesies Rama-rama Eurema di Semenanjung Malaysia)

NOOR AZRIZAL-WAHID^1,2*, MOHD SOFIAN-AZIRUN¹ & MOHAMMED RIZMAN-IDID^1,3

¹Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

²Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

³Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, C308 IGS Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

Received: 28 September 2015/Accepted: 25 February 2016

ABSTRACT

Six species of Eurema butterflies comprised of 261 adult individuals collected from various sampling sites in Peninsular Malaysia were identified. The morphometric measurement of the specimens was carried out by using seven characters measured from the wing and body regions. Morphometric analysis was determined through the multivariate analysis of Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) and Cluster Analysis. The results of DFA showed that two out of seven characters utilized have the lowest values of Partial’s Wilks Lambda; basal length and hindwing length. These characters therefore are significant for the discrimination of the Eurema species. The classification matrix shows that both E. hecabe and E. blanda were completely discriminated by the characters set. Moreover, there was great overlaps occurred between the species groups when plotting a conical graph except for species E. blanda that formed homogenous group. Basal length was also suggested as the species-specific character for grouping the species E. blanda. In Cluster Analysis, E. hecabe tends to be closer to E. sari with the lowest value of agglomeration. The results from dendogram generated from average linkage also showed several relationship patterns among the six species.

Keywords: Discrimination; Eurema; morphometric; multivariate analysis

ABSTRAK

Enam spesies rama-rama Eurema telah dikenal pasti daripada 261 individu dewasa yang ditangkap dari pelbagai lokasi di Semenanjung Malaysia. Kajian morfometri telah dijalankan dengan menggunakan tujuh ukuran sifat daripada bahagian sayap dan badan. Analisis morfometri ditentukan berdasarkan analisis multivariat iaitu Analisis Diskriminasi Fungsi (DFA) dan Analisis Kelompok. Keputusan DFA merungkaikan dua daripada tujuh sifat yang digunakan mempunyai nilai Partial’s Wilks Lambda yang terendah; panjang basal dan panjang kepak belakang. Justeru, sifat ini bermanfaat untuk membezakan antara spesies Eurema. Klasifikasi matriks pula menunjukkan kedua-dua E. hecabe dan E. andersonii sepenuhnya didiskriminasikan oleh set sifat. Seterusnya, terdapat pertindihan yang ketara berlaku antara spesies dalam analisis pemboleh ubah konikal kecuali bagi spesies E. blanda yang dilihat membentuk kelompok homogen. Panjang basal juga dicadangkan sebagai spesies-khusus sifat untuk pengelasan spesies E. blanda. Analisis Kelompok pula menunjukkan E. hecabe lebih cenderung rapat dengan E. sari dan mempunyai nilai jadual aglomerasi yang terendah. Keputusan daripada dendogram juga menunjukkan beberapa corak hubungan antara enam spesies dalam kajian ini.

Kata kunci: Analisis multivariat; diskriminasi; Eurema; morfometri

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*Corresponding author; email: ajerijal@siswa.um.edu.my