Assessment of morphometric traits of camels using principal component analysis

This study assessed the morphometric traits of camels in Katsina State, Nigeria. 51 camels (24 females and 27 males) were selected randomly for the study. Data were collected on individual camels, including; heart girth (HG), abdominal girth (AG), rump height (RH), shoulder height (SH), neck length (NL) and head length (HL), and subjected to statistical analysis procedures of SPSS version 23.0.0, for descriptive statistics, phenotypic correlation, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Results revealed that the overall mean body weight of the camels was 230.73 kg, with females averaging 216.15 kg and males 243.70 kg. Phenotypic correlation indicated a strong positive correlation between body weight and HG (r = 0.877 for females, r = 0.911 for males; p<0.01), suggesting that HG is a reliable predictor of body weight in camels. Two principal components (PCs) extracted in male and female camels explained 77% and 84% of the total variation, respectively. For females, PC1 accounted for 57.768% of the variance and was strongly associated with HG, AG, SH, and NL. In males, PC1 explained 65.714% of the variance, with similar trait loadings. HG, AG, and SH emerged as key variables influencing overall body size, while rump height was distinct, potentially linked to mobility and endurance. These findings suggest that heart and abdominal girth, are essential indicators of body weight and conformation in camels, highlighting the potential for using these traits in selective breeding programs aimed at improving camel productivity.