Phenotypic characterization of Algerian D'man sheep breed in Adrar oases
Abderrahmane Boubekeur 1, Mohammed Tahar Benyoucef 2, Mohammed Lounassi 1, Abdelkader Slimani 1, Abdelkader Maref 1
Introduction
In Algeria, the sheep is composed in majority by “hardy” breeds in different
ecological zones. The D'man breed is located in the South-West zone (Fig. 1).
This breed is classified among the endangered breeds which need to be
studied and preserved.
this study aims to characterize morphologically D'man breed for use in the
preservation and enhancement of its reproductive remarkable qualities.
Materials and methods
The study focused on the analysis of quantitative (7) and qualitative (5)
traits of 354 D'man breed heads over 2 years (Fig. 2).
The fixed effects including the sex and the age of animals were estimated by
analysis using the general linear model SPSS software.
Results and discussion
The studied D'man breed animals have several coat colors that might be
unique or combined (Tab. 1 and Img. 1).
The D'man animals observed are lanky guy with a light frame. They are
characterized by small size, a thin and long head and a weak skeleton (Tab.
2).
Males and females of the breed D'man do not present horns (Img. 2). This
breed is distinguished by a different traits (Img. 3).
The effect of sex and age was observed highly significant (p <0.001) on most
of the analyzed variables (Tab. 3).
Conclusions
Characterization studies should facilitate the design of objective and reliable
predictions on the performances of animals.
They are intended to promote genetic resources in their environment while
contributing to their conservation for the needs of present and future
generations.
Figure 2: Body measurements studied. HG:
Heart Girth; WH: Wither Height; BL: Body
Length; HL: Head Length; EL: Ear Length;
TL: Tail length.
Colors Females Males Total
white spotted 10,42 5,26 9,04
Brown 25,87 7,37 20,90
Brown and white 15,44 5,26 12,71
Black 16,99 65,26 29,94
Black and white 11,97 14,74 12,71
Black and brown 3,47 2,11 3,11
Black, white and brown 3,09 0,00 2,26
Russet 12,74 0,00 9,32
Table 1: Values of
frequencies (%) of the
color of the body coat
of D’man animals
studied.
Variables Mean ±SE CV (%) Min Max
Weight (kg) 35,79 ± 0,38 20,0 24,0 68,0
Wither height (cm) 66,13 ± 0,31 8,8 53,0 87,0
Body length (cm) 69,49 ± 0,23 6,4 59,0 85,0
Heart girth (cm) 79,37 ± 0,38 9,1 67,0 104
Head length (cm) 21,89 ± 0,68 5,8 20,0 26,0
Ears Length (cm) 13,56 ± 0,45 6,3 12,0 16,0
Tail length (cm) 42,94 ± 0,24 10,6 30,0 58,0
Table 2: Descriptive
parameters of
morphological criteria
measured in D'man
animals.
Variation N Weight WH BL HG HL EL TL
Sex *** *** *** *** *** Ns ***
Female 259 33,6±0,2 63,9±0,2 67,5±0,2 77,0±0,3 21,6±0,1 13,6±0,1 42,2±0,3
Male 95 41,6±1,0 72,3±0,6 74,8±0,3 85,8±0,9 22,8±0,1 13,5±0,1 44,9±0,4
SD (m/f) 1,24 1,14 1,11 1,11 1,06 0,99 1,09
Age ** Ns *** ** * Ns *
2 years 189 34,9±0,6 65,7±0,4 68,6±0,4 78,2±0,6 21,7±0,1 13,5±0,1 42,3±0,4
3 years 90 36,7±0,5 66,5±0,5 69,9±0,4 80,3±0,6 22,1±0,1 13,6±0,1 43,3±0,4
4 years 75 37,0±0,9 66,6±0,7 70,9±0,4 81,1±0,8 22,1±0,1 13,7±0,1 44,1±0,5
* p <0.05; ** p <0.01; *** p <0.001, ns: not significant, SD: sexual dimorphism.
Table 3: Effect of age and sex on parameters studied in D’man breed.
Figure 1: Area of the D’man sheep
breed in Algeria
Image 2: hornless Male of the D’man
Image 3: White spot on head And
White tail tip traits.
Image 1. Pigmentation of animals D'man
Acknowledgments The authors thank the staff of the INRAA (headquarter in Algiers and Adrar station), the technical staff of Agricultural Services and sheep breeders surveyed in the Adrar region. Mr. BOUBEKEUR Abderrahmen: [email protected]
Algeria: 1 National Institute of Agronomic Research of Algeria, Adrar station. 2 National High School of Agronomy (ENSA) ElHarrach, Algiers