Fluctuating Asymmetry

Dear Colleagues,

Fluctuating asymmetry is the random deviation from perfect symmetry in populations of organisms. It is a measure of developmental noise, which reflects a population’s average state of adaptation and coadaptation. Moreover, it often increases under both environmental and genetic stress. Researchers study fluctuating asymmetry as deviations from bilateral, radial, rotational, dihedral, translational, helical, and fractal symmetries. Fluctuating asymmetry is measured via traditional measures of dispersion (variances and mean absolute deviations), landmark methods for shape asymmetry, and continuous symmetry measures. It has numerous applications in evolutionary biology, quantitative genetics, environmental biology, ecotoxicology, conservation biology, anthropology, agriculture and aquaculture, evolutionary psychology, and medicine and public health.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight all aspects of fluctuating asymmetry in the biological sciences. Research papers, comprehensive reviews, and discussions of theory are especially welcome. However, any other kind of paper: communication, technical note, short overview or comment will also be taken into consideration.

Dr. John H. Graham
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Symmetry is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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