Morphological diversities and ecozones of Ethiopian horse populations

Kefena, E.; Dessie, Tadelle; Han, J. L.; Kurtu, Mohammed Yusuf; Rosenbom, Sónia; Beja‐Pereira, Albano

doi:10.1017/s2078633612000021

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 111 publications

(175 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…2011; Yakubu and Ibrahim Isa 2011; Kefena et al . 2012). Diversity in morphometric traits between breeds could be due to genetic differences as well as environmental factors and may reflect the level of adaptation of these breeds to specific agro-climatic conditions of their distribution areas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classification of four ovine breeds of southern peninsular zone of India: Morphometric study using classical discriminant function analysis

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Six morphometric traits (height at withers, body length, chest girth, ear length, tail length and body weight) were analyzed to characterize from a breed point of view 1981 sheep from four ovine breeds (Bellary, Kenguri, Hassan and Mandya) of southern peninsular zone of India. Discriminant Function Analysis was used to distinguish between four breeds by morphometric traits. The population variability showed Kenguri ewes were the largest and heaviest followed by Bellary, Hassan and Mandya whereas Kenguri rams were followed by Bellary, Mandya and Hassan. Overall sexual dimorphism (m/f) was 1.13, with Kenguri males being 47% heavier than females. The coefficient of variation of all traits in four breeds ranged from 4.06% to 30.28%. The flocks and age effects showed a high heterogeneity among females of different flocks. Height at withers was most discriminating trait in separating the four sheep breeds. The Mahalanobis distance of the morphological traits between Kenguri and Mandya sheep was most while the least differentiation was observed between Kenguri and Bellary sheep. Nearest neighbour discriminant analysis showed that most Kenguri sheep were classified into their source population followed by Mandya. However, varied percentages of misclassification between different breeds were observed showing the level of genetic exchange that has taken place between the breeds overtime. UPGMA based dendrogram showed formation of two separate groups; Mandya and Hassan clustered together while Bellary and Kenguri formed other group.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classification of four ovine breeds of southern peninsular zone of India: Morphometric study using classical discriminant function analysis

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Ethiopian horses have not been systematically characterized and documented in terms of their observed phenotypic characteristics (Kefena et al, 2012), which made it difficult to group them based on breed. Therefore, an attempt was made to categorize them as local, exotic and cross breeds.…”

Section: Risk Factors For Associations With Leptospiramentioning

confidence: 99%

Circulating serovars of Leptospira in cart horses of central and southern Ethiopia and associated risk factors

Tsegay

Potts

Aklilu

et al. 2016

Preventive Veterinary Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Little work has been done on diseases of horses in Ethiopia or tropical regions of the world.Yet, Ethiopia has the largest horse population in Africa and their horses play a pivotal role in their economy as traction animals. A serological and questionnaire survey was therefore conducted to determine the circulating serovars of Leptospira and their association with potential risk factors in the cart horse population of Central and Southern Ethiopia. A total of 184 out of 418 cart horses from 13 districts had antibody titres of 1:100 or greater to at least one of 16 serovars of Leptospira species in Central and Southern Ethiopian horses. A significantly higher seropositivity (62.1%) was noted in horses from the highland agroecology followed by midland (44.4%) and lowland (39.8%). Serovar Bratislava (34.5%) was the predominant serovar followed by serovars Djasiman (9.8%), Topaz (5.98%) and Pomona (5.3%). Age and location proved to be associated with seropositive horses with older horses being more commonly affected and the districts of Ziway (Batu) (Apparent Prevalence 2 (AP)=65.5%), Shashemene (AP=48.3%) and Sebeta (AP=41.4%) having the highest prevalence. Multivariable logistic regression found risk factors significantly associated with Leptospira seropositive horses were drinking river water (OR=2.8) and horses 7-12 years old (OR=5) and risk factors specifically associated with serovar Bratislava seropositive horses were drinking river water (OR= 2.5), horses ≥13 years (OR=3.5) and the presence of dogs in adjacent neighbouring properties (OR = 0.3). Dogs had a protective effect against seropositivity to serovars Bratislava and Djasiman, which may be due to their ability to control rodents. The high seroprevalence confirm that leptospirosis is endemic among horses of Central and Southern Ethiopia. The predominance of serovar Bratislava supports the idea that serovar Bratislava may be adapted to and maintained by the horse population of Central and Southern Ethiopia. This study emphasizes the need for further countrywide serological surveys and isolation of circulating leptospires in animals and humans in order to understand the role of horses in the epidemiology of this disease.

show abstract

“…Multivariate discriminant analyses of morphological traits have been reported, in several previous studies, to be effective for a precise and objective discrimination of different populations of cattle [13,14,15,33]; goats [26,34], sheep [35,36,37], and horses [38]. Therefore, results of such analyses may represent an objective basis for comparison with herders’ indigenous knowledge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Confronting pastoralists’ knowledge of cattle breeds raised in the extensive production systems of Benin with multivariate analyses of morphological traits

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cross-border seasonal livestock movements in West Africa bring into close contact several cattle breeds. In the coastal countries hosting migrating herders from the Sahel, it often affects the genetic variability and geographical distribution of traditional cattle breeds, through their indiscriminate but also intended crossbreeding with larger-framed Sahelian cattle breeds. The need to secure and effectively manage this genetic variability, in order to respond to changing production and market conditions, is widely recognized by the scientific community, livestock herders and policy-makers. This however requires a comprehensive knowledge of the breeds’ characteristics. The indigenous criteria used by pastoralists to characterize and distinguish cattle breeds remain unclear and further validation is required. This study was therefore designed to document and validate herders' knowledge on cattle breeds. From June 2015 to June 2016, 803 cattle herders participated in a phenotypic breed description in seven pastoral communities across the country. Each cattle herder was asked to name and describe morphologically the different cattle breeds in his herd. Subsequently, fifteen body measurements taken on a total of 1401 adult cattle (964 cows and 439 bulls) were submitted to multivariate analyses. Participants distinguished ten different cattle breeds kept in traditional herds according to six primary morphological traits and clearly separated zebuine from taurine breeds. These results were consistent with those of the multivariate analyses of the measured traits. However, herders’ classification approach proved to be more accurate in distinguishing breeds within the zebuine subspecies. Hence, while metric measurements and molecular genetic analyses are promising approaches to fill the knowledge gap on the diversity of local farm animal genetic resources, they should integrate livestock herders’ traditional knowledge for more precision.

show abstract

Morphological diversities and ecozones of Ethiopian horse populations

Cited by 17 publications

References 111 publications

Classification of four ovine breeds of southern peninsular zone of India: Morphometric study using classical discriminant function analysis

Classification of four ovine breeds of southern peninsular zone of India: Morphometric study using classical discriminant function analysis

Circulating serovars of Leptospira in cart horses of central and southern Ethiopia and associated risk factors

Confronting pastoralists’ knowledge of cattle breeds raised in the extensive production systems of Benin with multivariate analyses of morphological traits

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About