Abstract
For the purpose of the morphometric characterization and differentiation of local sheep breeds that belong to the group of breeds called Pramenka or Zackel, two Slovenian (Bela Krajina and Istrian Pramenka) and four Montenegrin sheep breeds (Bardoka, Sjenička, Pivska Pramenka, and Zeta Žuja) were studied. The variation of morphometric measures and nine morphometric indices were analysed. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied in order to provide an easier description of body size and shape. Regarding body size, the Sjenička breed was one of the largest breeds (body weight 76.4 kg, wither height 72.7 cm, chest circumference 100.3 cm), while Zeta Žuja had the smallest body size (37.1 kg, 64.8, and 81.9 cm). On the other hand, Slovenian Istrian Pramenka had the largest body length, chest depth, chest width, and rump width among all included breeds (79.4, 33.6, 22.7, and 21.2 cm). Bela Krajina, Istrian Pramenka, and the Sjenička breed, according to the index of body frame (IBF) value (107–114), have a rectangular body frame, Bardoka and Pivska Pramenka have a square body frame (99.3–100), and Zeta Žuja has a short body frame (91.8). The PCA of all morphometric parameters extracted three components accounting for 96.6 % of the cumulative variance. An unweighted pair–group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) cluster analysis by Euclidian distance shows diversity among the studied breeds, through it grouped Pivska Pramenka with Sjenička and Istrian with Bela Krajina Pramenka in two clusters, while Bardoka and Zeta Žuja were clustered separately.
Highlights
Genetic diversity among breeds enables the existence of livestock in different environmental conditions and provides a range of products and functions necessary for the human population (Yunusa et al, 2013; Salako and Ngere, 2002)
The highest wither height was found in the Montenegrin breeds Sjenicka and Pivska Pramenka, followed by Slovenian Istrian Pramenka (72.71, 71.33, and 69.62 cm), with significant differences (P < 0.05) among all studied breeds, while Bela Krajina (65.56 cm) was not significantly different from Bardoka and Zeta Žuja (66.22 and 64.76 cm)
The breeds were in the same order regarding the average values of other morphometric traits like rump height, chest circumference, and body weight
Summary
Genetic diversity among breeds enables the existence of livestock in different environmental conditions and provides a range of products and functions necessary for the human population (Yunusa et al, 2013; Salako and Ngere, 2002). In the area of the Balkan Peninsula, many local sheep breeds have evolved under specific geographical and climatic conditions, and most of them belong to the group of coarse wool breeds called Pramenka or Zackel (Porcu and Markovic, 2006). Sheep production in Montenegro is an important livestock sector, with a current population of about 200 000 heads (Markovicet al., 2018). Pivska Pramenka and Sjenicka sheep, which make up the largest share in the total population, while other breeds (Bardoka, Ljaba, Sora, and Zeta Žuja) represent a relatively small part of the population (Adžicet al., 2004; Markovicet al., 2007, 2011), but all of them are very valuable from a genome preservation point of view. The current sheep population in Slovenia is about 120 000 heads (SURS, 2016). Slovenian sheep production is mostly based on local breeds, including Jezersko–Solcava sheep and Bovška sheep, which belong to the Alpine group of breeds, and the Istrian and Bela Krajina breeds, which belong to the Pramenka group (Kompan and Pogacnik, 1994; Kompan et al, 1996; Žan Lotricet al., 2013)
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