Morpho-Biometric Characterization of Indigenous Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) Populations in Northern Togo

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed at carrying out the morpho-biometric characterization of indigenous guinea fowl populations.Materials and Methods: Data collection was conducted between March and July 2018 in two agroecological zones in northern Togo.The study was carried out on 738 adult guinea fowl. Each animal was described by direct observation. Body weight and measurements were recorded. Results: The results revealed twelve colours of the plumage with a dominance of Bonaparte (39.0%) and Pearl grey (27.1%) colours and a rarity of Cinnamon pied (0.7%), Isabelle (0.3%) and Coral blue (0.1%) colours. The plumage was mostly smooth (90.5%). The eyes were mostly brown (57.0%) but Albino guinea fowl predominantly had white colour (85.2%) for the eye. Regardless of the phenotype, the helmet was curved (73.2%) and mumps white-bluish colour (85.5%). In Atakora, the beak was brown (81.3%), the wattles were redwhite (49.8%), the shanks were black-red (32.6%) and the toes were red (47.6% ) while in the Dry Savannah the beak was red (52.9%), the wattles were red-bluish (38.4%), the shanks were black-orange (12.3%) and the toes were grey (35.2%). For the beak length, drumstick length, body length and body weight, the Dry Savannah guinea fowl showed significantly (p<0.05) higher values than those of Atakora guinea fowl. Moreover, guinea fowl with Pearl grey phenotype (1.36±0.28 kg) were heavier (p<0.05) than the other phenotypes. Conclusion: Positive relationship could not be established between phenotype and biometric characteristics in this study. Further studies are required using molecular and zootechnical information to establish relationship between different phenotypes.

Genetic diversity of indigenous guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) using microsatellite markers in northern Togo

“…Similar results were found by Kayang et al (2010) , Traoré et al (2018) and Weimann et al (2016) in guinea fowl populations of West Africa and Sudan, respectively. The higher overall rates of heterozygosity indicate a high genetic diversity, which is consistent with the great phenotypic variability observed previously in the same subpopulations ( Soara et al, 2020 ). The great genetic diversity in indigenous guinea fowl in northern Togo could be the result of the absence of selection for specific phenotype or production traits and/or uncontrolled mating in the semi-intensive rearing system, which has as consequence a continuous genes flow between populations, the conservation of a high number of alleles, and a strong heterozygosity in the populations.…”

“…However, no information is available on the genetic diversity and structure of indigenous guinea fowl in Togo despite their socio-economic importance. Phenotypic characterization showed a great diversity between guinea fowl of Dry Savannah and Atakora agroecological zones on the one hand and between the different phenotypes based on the plumage colours on the other hand ( Soara et al, 2020 ). However, it did not allow the specific identification of breeds, strains or ecotypes.…”

“…Colour varieties have been developed around these four mutations and their various combinations ( Ghigi, 1924 ; Ghigi, 1966 ; Somes Jr, 1996 ). In the current study, our objective was to evaluate the genetic variability in each plumage colour phenotype identified by the phenotypic characterization of guinea fowl of Togo ( Soara et al., 2020 ). The use of polymorphism of molecular markers such as microsatellite loci is a reliable way of assessing genetic diversity within and between populations ( Hillel et al, 2003 ; Osei-Amponsah et al, 2010 ; FAO, 2011 ; Fotsa et al, 2011 ).…”

Multivariate characterisation of morpho-biometric traits of indigenous helmeted Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) in Nigeria

“…In a similar study in Ghana, Agbolosu et al [ 21 ] found that the predominant plumage colour was pearl grey colour (43.7%), whereas Traore et al [ 22 ] reported pied plumage colour (42.76%) as the most frequent colour in the provinces of Burkina Faso. The Nigerian birds shared brown eye colour (57.0%) with those of Atakora (Mountainous) dry savannah zone in Togo [ 44 ] and black shank colour with those of Kenya (95.6%) [ 16 ], Sudanian and Sudano-Guinean zones in Benin [ 45 ]. Colour polymorphism defies evolutionary expectations as a single species may maintain a striking phenotypic variation [ 46 ].…”

Multivariate Characterization of Morpho-biometric Traits of Indigenous Helmeted Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris) in Nigeria

“…In a similar study in Ghana, Agbolosu et al [24] found that the predominant plumage colour was pearl grey colour (43.7%), whereas Traore et al [25] reported that pied plumage colour (42.76%) was the most frequent among the provinces in Burkina Faso. The Nigerian birds shared brown eye colour (57.0%) with those of Atakora (Mountainous) dry savannah zone in Togo [50], and black shank colour with those of Kenya (95.6%) [19], Sudanian and Sudano-Guinean zones in Benin [51].…”