Defining of Some Morphological Characteristics in order to Determine the Infrastructure of Conservation Strategies of Indigenous Cattle for Designing Sustainable Methods and Conservation of Biodiversity: Eastern Anatolian Red Example Reared Under Ex-Situ Conditions in Türkiye

Abstract

This study was designed to protect indigenous animal breeds as an infrastructure for the continuation of biodiversity and to be a link in the production chain. For this purpose, the interaction of the information on Eastern Anatolian Red (EAR) breed, which were evaluated or protected according to different methods, and some morphological characters of animals reared under ex-situ conditions, with the sources of variation were evaluated. It were used materials preserved according to different methods and 207 head calves obtained during four years in the study. The materials that consisted of 350 head ex-situ, 200 head in-situ, 50 piece in-vitro was conserved in original environment. The weights and measurements of calves were recorded at birth and weaning. Difference of CV was the highest that was seen between males and females in 2022 (%9.24, %19.23 respectively) in birth. It was observed a certain level of difference for CV for BL, WH, CD, CW, CG, RH and FWG both between sexes and between years in weaning, but these differences were not as large as at birth. BW, WH, CW, CG, RH and FWG differed between sexes in birth period (p< 0.05). In the same period, all body measurements were different between years (p< 0.01). In weaning period, difference of CV for WW was the highest that was seen by sex in 2019 (%9.64, %15.47 female, male, respectively). In the same period, it was close CV values of body measurements determined by both sexes and years. There was an interaction between sexes and WW, CW, FWG (p< 0.05), years and all body measurements (p< 0.01) in the weaning period. The increase in studies on EAR breed could result in a modulation of sustainable of animal biodiversity potentially impacting livestock control and efficiency.