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

Abstract

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.

Morphological assessment of the Zebu Bororo (Wodaabé) cattle of Niger in the West African zebu framework

“…However, only 15 of them coincided with those obtained by Traoré et al (2015Traoré et al ( , 2016 in nine West African cattle populations. Moreover, definition of two of the traits recorded (tail length and facial width) differed between the current research and the project of Traoré et al (2015Traoré et al ( , 2016.…”

“…However, only 15 of them coincided with those obtained by Traoré et al (2015Traoré et al ( , 2016 in nine West African cattle populations. Moreover, definition of two of the traits recorded (tail length and facial width) differed between the current research and the project of Traoré et al (2015Traoré et al ( , 2016. Therefore, after editing, only 13 quantitative traits were used for analyses (Tables 1 and 2): facial length (from orbital fossa to upper lip), muzzle circumference, horn length (greater curvature), ear length, height at withers, heart girth, height at hips (tuber coxae), body length (from lateral tuberosity of the humerus to tuber ischii), thorax depth, shoulder width (between lateral tuberosities of the humerus), pelvic width (between tuber ischii), ischium width (between tuber ischii) and rump length (from tuber coxae to tuber ischii).…”

“…Eleven qualitative traits were scored with the same withintrait levels, codes and definitions used in Traoré et al (2015Traoré et al ( , 2016: cephalic profile, ear shape, muzzle pigmentation, eyelid pigmentation, hoof pigmentation, horn colour, dewlap size, backline profile, horn shape, spotting pattern and coat colour pattern (Table 3).…”

“…Recently, nine West African cattle breeds have been jointly analysed for body measurements and qualitative type traits using multifactorial analyses (Traoré et al, 2015(Traoré et al, , 2016. These analyses included individuals of the Burkina Faso populations of Zebu Azawak (also known as Touareg) and Zebu Mbororo (Red Fulani), as well as the Benin and Burkina Faso populations of the short-horned Zebu Peul.…”

“…The aim of the current research was to document the phenotypic variation on body measurements and qualitative type traits in a representative sample of Niger Bororo cattle using the methodology reported in Traoré et al (2015Traoré et al ( , 2016. Morphological variation was compared with that of four West African zebu cattle populations of Burkina Faso and Benin considering jointly all measured morphological variables using multifactorial techniques to assess within-and betweenpopulations variation.…”