Euclidean Distance Index Based on Few Orthogonal Principal Components for Biological Taxonomic Purposes

The paper proposed an alternative measure for classification of biological organisms in taxonomy. The alternative measure is based on a normalized Euclidian distance index that is derived from a few orthogonal principal components of the input trait matrix. Using an exploratory, descriptive method of research, data from two (2) species of the biting fly were analyzed. Result revealed that the alternative measure successfully distinguished between the two (2) species of biting fly L. torrens and L. carteri using only the wing dimensions of the flies. The other information such as palp length, palp width, and length of antennal segment were not useful in discriminating between two (2) fly species. The implication is that for taxonomic purposes, only a few traits are sufficient to distinguish between organisms coming from the same genera.

Keywords: survey, threatened, endemic plants, Mindanao, Philippines