Analysis of the response of the morphologicalfeatures of Undaria pinnatifida to biomass based onmachine learning methods

Analysis of the response of the morphologicalfeatures of Undaria pinnatifida to biomass based onmachine learning methods | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Analysis of the response of the morphologicalfeatures of Undaria pinnatifida to biomass based onmachine learning methods Bangken Ying, Xiaoyan Su, Yuchen Luo, Qian Zhou, Gengqing Lu, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6601258/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates the relationship between morphological traits and biomass in Undaria pinnatifida (wakame), an econom-ically important marine macroalgae, using machine learning approaches. Samples of wild and cultivated U. pinnatifida were collected from Zhoushan and Shandong, China, and analyzed for morphological characteristics, including central leaf length(MLL), maximum lateral leaf width (MSLW), and unit surface integral shape dimension (UAFD). Principal Component Analysis(PCA) revealed significant morphological differences between wild and cultivated populations. Generalized Linear Models(GLMs) and Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) were employed to evaluate the correlation between these morphologicaltraits and biomass.The results showed that MLL, MSLW, and UAFD were significantly positively correlated with biomass in wild U. pinnatifida. TheGAM model, with a higher explanatory power (R² = 0.922), revealed nonlinear relationships, such as the influence of MLL andMSLW on biomass, which increased significantly when MLL exceeded 40 cm and MSLW surpassed 3.2 cm. Conversely, GLMsprovided a clearer response trend of morphological traits to biomass changes, less affected by outliers.The study concludes that wild U. pinnatifida exhibits shorter stalks and smaller leaf areas compared to cultivated strains, withbiomass primarily attributed to lateral leaves. Central leaf length and maximum lateral leaf width emerged as reliable indicatorsfor estimating wild U. pinnatifida biomass. These findings provide valuable insights into the morphological basis of biomassvariation and offer a methodological framework for resource utilization, germplasm innovation, and population conservation ofthis ecologically and economically significant marine species. Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Biooceanography/Fisheries Biological sciences/Ecology/Biooceanography Biological sciences/Ecology/Ecological modelling Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Limnology Undaria pinnatifida GLM GAM Morphological Machine learning Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SamplePermissions.jpg Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 26 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 23 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 26 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Jun, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 28 May, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 20 May, 2025 Editor invited by journal 20 May, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 16 May, 2025 First submitted to journal 06 May, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6601258","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":463077750,"identity":"81290eeb-6476-40b5-a7f5-ab7942683b7e","order_by":0,"name":"Bangken Ying","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang Ocean University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bangken","middleName":"","lastName":"Ying","suffix":""},{"id":463077751,"identity":"48dfc61b-4aca-4f7d-981b-c9cc86a23864","order_by":1,"name":"Xiaoyan Su","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang Ocean 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Samples of wild and cultivated U. pinnatifida were collected from Zhoushan and Shandong, China, and analyzed for morphological characteristics, including central leaf length(MLL), maximum lateral leaf width (MSLW), and unit surface integral shape dimension (UAFD). Principal Component Analysis(PCA) revealed significant morphological differences between wild and cultivated populations. Generalized Linear Models(GLMs) and Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) were employed to evaluate the correlation between these morphologicaltraits and biomass.The results showed that MLL, MSLW, and UAFD were significantly positively correlated with biomass in wild\u0026nbsp;U. pinnatifida. TheGAM model, with a higher explanatory power (R² = 0.922), revealed nonlinear relationships, such as the influence of MLL andMSLW on biomass, which increased significantly when MLL exceeded 40 cm and MSLW surpassed 3.2 cm. 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