Phenotypic Diversity of Camel Ecotypes (Camelus dromedarius) in the South Region of Kerman Province of Iran

Subject Areas : Camel

J. Ehsaninia ¹ , B. Faye ² , N. Ghavi Hossein-Zadeh ³

1 - Department of Agriculture, Minab Higher Education Center, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran
2 - FAO/CIRAD-ES, Campus International de Baillarguet, TA C/dir B 34398 Montpellier, France
3 - Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural Science, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

Received: 2019-01-08 Accepted : 2019-03-31 Published : 2020-12-01

Keywords: body weight, Morphological traits, camel ecotypes, Jazmurian region, pheno-typic characteristics,

Abstract :

The aims of the present study were to evaluate phenotypic diversity and to determine the live body weight of camel ecotypes elevated in the south region of Kerman province in Iran. The morphological characteristics and body measurements of 136 camels (117 females and 19 males; aged between 3 and 12 years) from eight regions of the Jazmurian were measured. The ecotypes involved Rudbari, Native and Pakistani camel populations, which are the major camels in these rearing areas. The traits evaluated were length and width of the head, ears and the hump, heart and barrel girth. The live body weight was determined using three traits including barrel girth, heart girth and the height at withers. Data were analyzed with general linear model(GLM) and CORR procedures of SAS program. The overall averages of barrel girth, heart girth, height at shoulders and body weight were 177.56 ± 16.81 cm; 222.77 ± 17.53 cm; 174.32 ± 9.14 cm and 346.21 ± 54.27 kg, respectively. The means for length and width of the head was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in Pakistani camel population than Rudbari and Native camels, and Native camels were significantly (p < 0.05) important for morphological variables particularly the length and the width of the ears than the other camels. The difference between Pakistani camels and other ecotypes was significant (p < 0.05) based on the estimated body weight. There were positive correlations between estimated body weight and biometric traits and the highest value was calculated between body weight and thoracic girth (r=0.94). The results of this study showed that phenotypic diversity of camel ecotypes is valuable to select based on their morphological characteristics in breeding programs and the presence of different camel ecotypes based on the morphology may provide a basis for selection and improvement in these populations.

References:

Abdallah H.R. and Faye B. (2012). Phenotypic classification of Saudi Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) by their body measurements. Emirates J. Food Agric. 24(3), 272-280.

Abebe W. (1991). Traditional husbandry practices and major health problems of camels in the Ogaden (Ethiopia). Nomadic Peoples. 29, 21-30.

Abebe W., Getinet A. and Mekonnen H.M. (2002). Study on live weight, carcass weight and dressing percentage of Issa camels in Ethiopia. Revue. Méd. Vét. 153(11), 713-716.

Almathen F., Mwaracharo J. and Hanotte O. (2012). Genetic diversity and relationships of indigenous Saudi Arabia camel (Camelus dromedarius) populations. Pp. 40-41 in Proc. 3^rd ISOCARD Conf., Mascate, Oman.

Baloch M.N. (2002). Documentation and characterization of camel breeds of Pakistan. MS Thesis. Sindh Agriculture Univ., Tando, Jam, Pakistan.

Chniter M., Hammadi M., Khorchani T., Riadh Krit R., Benwahada A. and Ben Hamouda M. (2013). Classification of Maghrebi camels (Camelus dromedarius) according to their tribal affiliation and body traits in southern Tunisia. Emirates J. Food Agric. 25(8), 625-634.

Eltanany M., Elfaroug O.S. and Distl O. (2015). Assessment of genetic diversity and differentiation of two major camel ecotypes (Camelus dromedarius) in Sudan using microsatellite markers. Arch. Anim. Breed. 58, 269-275.

FAO. (2011). Draft Guidelines on Phenotypic Characterization of Animal Genetic Resources. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy.

FAOSTAT. (2016). Database of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Availabe at: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home.

Faye B., Abdallah H., Almathen F., Harzallah B. and Al-Mutairi S. (2011). Camel Biodiversity. Camel phenotypes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Camel Breeding, Protection and Improvement Center, Project UTF/SAU/021/SAU, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Publication, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Faye B., Bengoumi M., Messad S. and Chilliard Y. (2001b). Fat storage and adipocyte patterns in camel: A tool for management of reproduction. Adv. Reprod. Sci. 5(3), 10-16.

Ishag I., Eisa M. and Ahmed M. (2011a). Effect of breed, sex and age on body measurements of Sudanese camels (Camelus dromedarius). Australian J. Basic Appl. Sci. 5(6), 311-315.

Ishag I.A., Eissa M.O. and Ahmed M.K.A. (2011b). Phenotypic characteristics of Sudanese camels (Camelus dromedarius). Livest. Res. Rural Dev. 23, 99-105.

Ishag I.A., Reissmann M., Peters M.J., Musa L.M.A. and Ahmed M.K.A. (2010). Phenotypic and molecular characterization of six Sudanese camel breeds. South African J. Anim. Sci. 40(4), 27-36.

Kadim I.T., Mahgoub O. and Purchas R.W. (2008). A review of thegrowth, and of the carcass and meat quality characteristics of theone-humped camel (Camelus dromedaries). Meat Sci. 80, 555-569.

Kamili A., Bengoumi M. and Faye B. (2006). Assessment of body condition and body composition in camel by barymetric measurements. J. Camel Pract. Res. 13(1), 67-72.

Khojastehkey M., Kalantar Neyestanaki M., Roudbari Z., Sadeghipanah H., Javaheri H. and Aghashahi A.R. (2020). Feasibility of body weight estimation of Kalkoohi camels using digital image processing. Iranian J. Appl. Anim. Sci. 10(2), 333-340.

Kuria S.G., Wahome R.G., Gachuiri C.K., Wanyoike M.M. and Mwangi J.N. (2007). Use of linear body measurements in estimating live weight of camel (Camelus dromedarius) calves in Kenya. J. Camel Pract. Res. 14(1), 21-25.

Kurtu M.Y. (2004). An assessment of the productivity for meat and the carcass yield of camels (Camelus dromedarius) and of the consumption of camel meat in the eastern region of Ethiopia. Trop. Anim. Health Prod. 36(1), 65-76.

Mahrous K.F., Ramadan H.A., Abdel Aziem S.H., Abd-El Mordy M. and Hemdan D.M. (2011). Genetic variations between camel breeds using microsatellite markers and RAPD techniques. J. Appl. Biosci. 39, 2626-2634.

Mungai I.P., Githaiga W.R. and Margaret W. (2007). Correlation of actual live weight and estimates of live weights of camel calves (Camelus dromedarius) in Samburu district of northern Kenya. J. Camelid Sci. 3, 26-32.

Raziq A., Tareen A.M. and Verdier K.D. (2011). Characterization and significance of Raigi camel, a livestock breed of the Pashtoon pastoral people in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Livest. Sci. 2, 11-19.

SAS Institute. (2009). SAS^®/STAT Software, Release 9.2. SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC. USA.

Seid A., Kurtu Y.M. and Urge M. (2016). Effect of age and body condition on slaughter characteristics of dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Eastern Ethiopia. J. Camelid Sci. 9, 35-52.

Shah M.G.U. (2007). Differentiation of six Pakistani camel breeds by phenotype and molecular genetics analysis. Ph D. Thesis. University of Agriculture, Pakistan.

Shah M.G.U., Reissmann M., Qreshi A.S., Schwartz H.J., Khan M.S., Ali T., Zaman A., Safdar K., Muhammad K. and Ullah S. (2012). Determination of genotype differences through restriction endonuclease in camels (Camelus dromedarius). African J. Biotechnol. 11(53), 11543-11547.

Shah M.G.U., Sarwar A., Reissmann M., Schwartz H.J., Gandahi J.A., Nisha A.R., Lochi G.M., Arivudainambi S., Umer M.M. and Khan S. (2015). Phenotypic characteristics and performance traits of Kohi camel (Camelus dromedarius). Int. J. Pharm. Bio Sci. 2(2), 13-19.

Shorepy S.A. (2011). Identification of environmental factors affecting the racing performance of race camels in the United Arab Emirates. Emirates J. Food Agric. 23, 424-430.

Yosef T., Kefelegn K., Mohammed Y.K., Mengistu U., Solomon A., Tadelle D. and Han J. (2014). Morphological diversities and eco-geographical structuring of Ethiopian camel (Camelus dromedarius) populations. Emirates J. Food Agric. 26(4), 371-389.

Younan M., Zaidi A. and Sikuku P. (2012). Camel Manual for Service Providers. Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Nairobi, Kenya.

Yousif O.K. and Babiker S.A. (1989). The desert camel as meat animals. Meat Sci. 26, 245-254.