1. Morphometric research is being applied to a growing number and variety of organisms. Discoveries achieved via morphometric approaches are often considered highly transferable, in contrast to the tacit and idiosyncratic interpretation of discrete character states. The reliability of morphometric workflows in insect systematics has never been a subject of focused research, but such studies are sorely needed. In this paper, we assess the reproducibility of morphometric studies of ants where the mode of data collection is a shared routine.
2. We compared datasets generated by eleven independent gaugers, that is, collaborators, who measured 21 continuous morphometric traits on the same pool of individuals according to the same protocol. The gaugers possessed a wide range of morphometric skills, had varying expertise among insect groups, and differed in their facility with measuring equipment. We used intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) to calculate repeatability and reproducibility values (i.e., intra‐ and intergauger agreements), and we performed a multivariate permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) using the Morosita index of dissimilarity with 9,999 iterations.
3. The calculated average measure of intraclass correlation coefficients of different gaugers ranged from R = 0.784 to R = 0.9897 and a significant correlation was found between the repeatability and the morphometric skills of gaugers (p = 0.016). There was no significant association with the magnification of the equipment in the case of these rather small ants. The intergauger agreement, that is the reproducibility, varied between R = 0.872 and R = 0.471 (mean R = 0.690), but all gaugers arrived at the same two‐species conclusion. A PERMANOVA test revealed no significant gauger effect on species identity (R² = 0.69, p = 0.58).
4. Our findings show that morphometric studies are reproducible when observers follow the standard protocol; hence, morphometric findings are widely transferable and will remain a valuable data source for alpha taxonomy.

中文翻译：

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昆虫形态测定在平均调查标准下是可重复的

1. 形态测量研究正在应用于越来越多和种类不断增加的生物体。与离散字符状态的默认和特殊解释相反，通过形态测量方法实现的发现通常被认为是高度可转移的。昆虫系统学中形态测量工作流程的可靠性从来都不是重点研究的主题，但迫切需要此类研究。在本文中，我们评估了蚂蚁形态测量研究的可重复性，其中数据收集模式是共享的常规。
2. 我们比较了 11 名独立测量员（即合作者）生成的数据集，他们根据相同的方案测量了同一组个体的 21 种连续形态特征。测量员拥有广泛的形态测量技能，在不同的昆虫群体中拥有不同的专业知识，并且测量设备的能力也有所不同。我们使用类内相关系数 (ICC) 来计算重复性和再现性值（即计量器内和计量器间一致性），并使用 Morosita 相异指数进行了 9,999 次迭代的多元排列多元方差分析 (PERMANOVA)。
3. 不同测量者的组内相关系数的计算平均测量范围为R  = 0.784 至R  = 0.9897，并且在重复性和测量者的形态测量技能之间发现显着相关性（p  = 0.016）。对于这些相当小的蚂蚁来说，设备的放大倍率没有显着的相关性。计量器间的一致性，即再现性，在R  = 0.872 和R  = 0.471（平均R  = 0.690）之间变化，但所有计量器都得出相同的两物种结论。PERMANOVA 测试显示对物种身份没有显着影响（R ²  = 0.69，p  = 0.58）。
4. 我们的研究结果表明，当观察者遵循标准方案时，形态测量研究是可重复的。因此，形态测量结果具有广泛的可移植性，并将仍然是阿尔法分类学的宝贵数据源。