Author(s):
Sobral, M. 
; Roberto, C. ; Navas, D. ; Palmilha, Isabel ; Lima, M. B. ; Cravador, A.
Date: 2009
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/1162
Origin: Sapientia - Universidade do Algarve
Subject(s): Algarvia bovine breed; Morphological characters; Numerical taxonomy; Extinct breed
Description
The morphology of a sample of four bulls and 43 cows, presumed to be
descendants of the extinct cattle breed ‘Algarvia’ (AG), was used to
assign their relationship with animals from other Portuguese autochthonous
breeds – Arouquesa (AR), Barrosa˜ (BA), Cachena (CA), Marinhoa
(MA), Maronesa (MO), Minhota (MN), Mirandesa (MI), (only bulls),
Alentejana (AL), Garvonesa (GA), Mertolenga (ME) and Preta (PR).
Standard numerical taxonomic methods were applied to a set of 183
(cows) and 170 (bulls) traits, to derive average pairwise taxonomic distances
among the sample of 257 cows and 76 bulls. Distance coefficients
(morphological index of distance) ranged from 0.22 to 2.62 (cows) and
from 0.49 to 2.13 (bulls). Unweighted pair group method using arithmetic
averages (UPGMA)-based phenograms and a principal coordinate
analysis showed that bulls were highly clustered and cows showed a
tendency to cluster according to their geographical and breed origin.
The AG population grouped together with GA, AL, ME and MN breeds
in the Red Convex group. The average taxonomic distance among
breeds was 1.02, the highest being 1.39 (ME versus BA) and the lowest
being 0.64 (MA versus AR). The approach allowed for the identification
of a phenotypically differentiated set of animals, comprising 19 cows
and four bulls representative of the AG breed, and which can be targeted
in further studies aiming at the recovery of this extinct breed.
