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

Sandrine O Houessou,Rodrigue Vivien Cao Diogo,Eva Schlecht,Maurice Cossi Ahozonlin,Mahamadou Dahouda,Luc Hippolyte Dossa,Juan J Loor

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0222756

Sandrine O Houessou, Rodrigue Vivien Cao Diogo + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222756

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Abstract

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.

Highlights

West Africa is rich in a wide variety of cattle breeds represented by the taurine (Bos taurus) and Zebu subspecies [1,2]
A total of ten cattle breeds were identified from the surveyed herders’ responses and named in Fulfulde language, spoken by almost all of the herders, as follows: Boboji, Somba, Yakanaji, Goudali/Bokoloji, Bodeeji/Bororo, Djelliji, Dageeji/Dage, Bargouji/Muti, Keteeji and one unnamed type perceived as crossbreed
Herders’ accuracy in describing and distinguishing different cattle breeds underlines the relevance of this approach for investigating the phenotypic and genetic variability in farm animal genetic resources

Summary

Introduction

West Africa is rich in a wide variety of cattle breeds represented by the taurine (Bos taurus) and Zebu subspecies [1,2]. Several studies revealed admixtures among the taurine and zebu subspecies [5,6,7] as the result of the continuous genetic flow that occurs every year during seasonal cross-border livestock movements from the drier Sahelian zones in the north to the more humid zones in the south of West and East Africa The importance of these local genetic resources for the livelihoods of livestock herders and the sustainability of the production systems in which they are raised calls for the urgent need to promote their sustainable use [2,8,9,10] and conservation [11]. The latter author has argued that biodiversity conservation and food security are two sides of the same coin

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