Determining the Relationship between Body Weight and Body Dimensions in Adult Domestic Cavy, Using Principal Component Analysis | Chapter 6 | Research Aspects in Agriculture and Veterinary Science Vol. 4

 The study used principal component analysis (PCA) to evaluate the association between body weight and several morphological characteristics in adult domestic cavies with the goal of predicting body weight from morpho-structural traits. The association between body weight and body dimensions in adult domestic cavy was studied using body weight and eleven (11) morpho-structural features from 300 adult cavies collected from three states in Northern Nigeria. The least squares analysis and main components analysis procedures were used to analyse the data acquired on bodyweight and body dimension. Adult cavies had a mean body weight of 495.007.35g, according to the findings. The average body dimensions were 2.570.02cm for the femur radius (FR) and 27.170.16cm for the body length (BL). Two main components were identified, accounting for 64.47 percent of the total variance in body dimensions. The first principal component (PC1) explained 49.25 percent of the overall variation by loading significantly on belly girth (BG), neck circumference (NC), heart girth (HG), body length (BL), shoulder length (SL), head length (HL), and trunk length (TL). The second main component (PC2), which was loaded on hind leg length (HLL), fore leg length (FLL), and hip to kneel length, accounted for 15.214 percent of the generalised variance (HKL). The orthogonal body shape features determined from the component analysis explained 52.5 percent of the variation in adult cavies' body weight. It was determined that linear body measurements could be used to accurately forecast adult cavies' live body weights.

Author(S) Details

T. E. Zetang
Department of Animal Breeding and Physiology, Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi Benue State, Nigeria.

O. M. Momoh
Department of Animal Breeding and Physiology, Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi Benue State, Nigeria.

P. A. Addass
Department of Animal Breeding and Physiology, Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi Benue State, Nigeria.

M. E. Khan
Department of Chemistry Federal University Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria.

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