Geographical assessment of body measurements and qualitative traits in West African cattle

Geographical assessment of body measurements and qualitative traits in West African cattle

A total of 1015 adult cows belonging to nine West African cattle breeds were assessed for 16 body measurements and 18 qualitative traits to ascertain the existence of geographical patterns of variation. Sampling was carried out in 29 different provinces of Mali, Burkina Faso and Benin. For body meas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tropical animal health and production Vol. 47; no. 8; pp. 1505 - 1513
Main Authors: Traoré, Amadou, Koudandé, Delphin Oloronto, Fernández, Iván, Soudré, Albert, Granda, Víctor, Álvarez, Isabel, Diarra, Siaka, Diarra, Fousseyni, Kaboré, Adama, Sanou, Moumouni, Tamboura, Hamidou Hamadou, Goyache, Félix
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-12-2015
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Animals
Benin
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biometry
Body Constitution
Breeding
Burkina Faso
Cattle
Cattle - anatomy & histology
Female
Geography
Life Sciences
Mali
Phenotype
Principal Component Analysis
Principal components analysis
Regular Articles
Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science
Zoology
Benin
Mali
Burkina Faso
Cattle breeds
Geographical patterns of variation
Qualitative traits
Linear measurements
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Summary:A total of 1015 adult cows belonging to nine West African cattle breeds were assessed for 16 body measurements and 18 qualitative traits to ascertain the existence of geographical patterns of variation. Sampling was carried out in 29 different provinces of Mali, Burkina Faso and Benin. For body measurements, taurine breeds took lower average values than the zebu breeds. Sanga cattle took intermediate values. Qualitative traits did not allow to differentiate among cattle groups (taurine, zebu or sanga) or breeds. Principal component analysis identified two factors explaining 56.4 and 9.2 % of the variance for body measurements, respectively. Two correspondence analysis dimensions computed on qualitative traits explained a small proportion of the variability (20.8 and 13.5 %, respectively). Contour plots were constructed using the eigenvalues computed for each individual and either factor or dimension identified; confidence regions calculated confirmed that body measurements clearly differentiated zebu and taurine cattle breeds while qualitative traits did not. Factor 1 was projected on a geographical map, using provinces as nodes, to assess breed-free variation for body measurements. A pattern of continuous variation from the Sahel area southwards was identified. Probably, breeding decisions promoting the crosses between zebu-like and taurine cattle are underlying this geographical pattern of variation. The implementation of selection strategies aiming at the increase of the productivity of native West African taurine cattle breeds while avoiding looses in trypanotolerant ability would be highly advisable.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11250-015-0891-7
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ISSN:0049-4747
1573-7438
DOI:10.1007/s11250-015-0891-7