Phenotypic diversity of indigenous goats across three agroecological zones in southeastern Ethiopia

The study aimed to evaluate the phenotypic diversity of indigenous goats reared in three agroecological zones of southeastern Ethiopia based on their morphometric traits. Multi-stage purposive and random sampling methods were applied to select the study areas and the goats. A total of 601 (463 female and 138 male) goats were randomly sampled, measured and described using 16 morphometric traits. Data collected were analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical procedures in SAS version 9.4. Univariate analysis revealed significant variations of all morphometric traits across the agroecological zones. The goats in the lowland agroecological zone were larger (p < 0.05) than those reared in other agroecological zones. Goats reared in the highland agroecological zone were smaller and lighter in size, while those from the midland agroecological zone showed intermediate body size and weight. Multivariate analysis (i.e. canonical discriminant and cluster analysis) showed that the goats in the three agroecological zones were different in terms of their morphology, with the largest Mahalanobis distance (42.3%) being observed between lowland and highland goat populations. Discriminant analysis correctly assigned 86% of goats to their source populations. These results indicate the existence of morphological diversity among goat populations in the three agroecological zones of southeastern Ethiopia and suggest the need to develop conservation and breeding strategies aimed at retaining the observed diversity at the phenotypic level. Further studies using molecular tools are needed to elucidate the observed diversity at the phenotypic level and to design appropriate strategies for the sustainable management of these animal genetic resources.