Preservation effects in geometric morphometric approaches: freezing and alcohol in a freshwater fish

The present study analyzes the effects of freezing and alcohol preservation in geometric morphometric data, using 15 individuals of the peacock fish Cichla kelberi (12.9–26.4 cm SL) divided into freezing and alcohol groups, conserved in each preservation method for 90 days. Discriminant analysis revealed significant difference between before and after treatments, and principal component analysis also showed separation between treatments, for both conservation methods. These results introduce a significant preservation influence that should be considered in biological, ecological and evolutionary interpretations of fish data in geometric morphometric approaches.