Creole goat morphological diversity partially mirrors district-level variation in the seasonally dry forest of Piura in Peru
Livestock systems in marginal ecosystems such as seasonally dry forests (SDFs) face increasing sustainability challenges, yet the role of morphology in mediating animal adaptation to local environmental and management conditions remains underexplored. In the Piura region of northern Peru—home to the...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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Public Library of Science
2026
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12955/2986 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339584 |
| _version_ | 1855028867121545216 |
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| author | Haro Reyes, José Antonio Sessarego Davila, Emmanuel Alexander Cruz Flores, Danny Julio Gonzales Guevara, Pablo Ross Ruiz Chamorro, José Antonio Cruz Luis, Juancarlos Alejandro |
| author_browse | Cruz Flores, Danny Julio Cruz Luis, Juancarlos Alejandro Gonzales Guevara, Pablo Ross Haro Reyes, José Antonio Ruiz Chamorro, José Antonio Sessarego Davila, Emmanuel Alexander |
| author_facet | Haro Reyes, José Antonio Sessarego Davila, Emmanuel Alexander Cruz Flores, Danny Julio Gonzales Guevara, Pablo Ross Ruiz Chamorro, José Antonio Cruz Luis, Juancarlos Alejandro |
| author_sort | Haro Reyes, José Antonio |
| collection | Repositorio INIA |
| description | Livestock systems in marginal ecosystems such as seasonally dry forests (SDFs) face increasing sustainability challenges, yet the role of morphology in mediating animal adaptation to local environmental and management conditions remains underexplored. In the Piura region of northern Peru—home to the country's most extensive SDF and its leading hub of goat production—Creole goats represent a diverse and under-characterized resource shaped by natural and human selection. Despite Creole goats' relevance, little is known about the spatial structure of their phenotypic variation or how it may signal emerging regional morphotypes. Addressing this gap, we conducted a comprehensive morphometric analysis of 617 female Creole goats across three distinct districts within Piura's SDF. Using linear body measurements (LBMs), morphometric indices, and multivariate analyses, we revealed significant district-level phenotypic differentiation. Goats from Catacaos exhibited consistently larger body dimensions and higher compactness indices, forming a distinct cluster in hierarchical analyses and suggesting the emergence of a localized morphotype. Notably, this phenotypic pattern was largely driven by animals from four specific farmers, pointing to the potential influence of herd-level management practices or breeding history. Despite this within-district heterogeneity, the Catacaos subgroup remained clearly differentiated from goats in Lancones. Principal component analysis of LBMs identified a dominant size axis explaining over 70% of variance, with Catacaos goats diverging along this dimension. In contrast, morphometric indices showed weaker discriminatory power. These findings suggest that LBMs outperform derived indices in capturing fine-scale phenotypic structure and may reflect both ecological adaptation and management-driven selection. Our results underscore the potential of morphometric profiling for identifying regionally adapted livestock types and lay the groundwork for future geographic indication schemes that valorize local biodiversity and support rural livelihoods. |
| format | info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
| id | INIA2986 |
| institution | Institucional Nacional de Innovación Agraria |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science |
| publisherStr | Public Library of Science |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INIA29862026-01-09T20:28:34Z Creole goat morphological diversity partially mirrors district-level variation in the seasonally dry forest of Piura in Peru Haro Reyes, José Antonio Sessarego Davila, Emmanuel Alexander Cruz Flores, Danny Julio Gonzales Guevara, Pablo Ross Ruiz Chamorro, José Antonio Cruz Luis, Juancarlos Alejandro Creole goats Morphological diversity Seasonally dry forest Morphometric analysis Linear body measurements Morphometric índices District-level variation Geographic indication Cabras criollas Diversidad morfológica Bosque estacionalmente seco Análisis morfométrico Cuerpo lineal mediciones Índices morfométricos Variación distrital Indicación geográfica https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#4.02.01 Cabra; Nannygoats; Raza; Breeds; Medición del cuerpo; Body measurements; Bosque seco; Dry forests; Zona árida; Arid zones; Variación genética; Genetic variation; Adaptación; Adaptation Livestock systems in marginal ecosystems such as seasonally dry forests (SDFs) face increasing sustainability challenges, yet the role of morphology in mediating animal adaptation to local environmental and management conditions remains underexplored. In the Piura region of northern Peru—home to the country's most extensive SDF and its leading hub of goat production—Creole goats represent a diverse and under-characterized resource shaped by natural and human selection. Despite Creole goats' relevance, little is known about the spatial structure of their phenotypic variation or how it may signal emerging regional morphotypes. Addressing this gap, we conducted a comprehensive morphometric analysis of 617 female Creole goats across three distinct districts within Piura's SDF. Using linear body measurements (LBMs), morphometric indices, and multivariate analyses, we revealed significant district-level phenotypic differentiation. Goats from Catacaos exhibited consistently larger body dimensions and higher compactness indices, forming a distinct cluster in hierarchical analyses and suggesting the emergence of a localized morphotype. Notably, this phenotypic pattern was largely driven by animals from four specific farmers, pointing to the potential influence of herd-level management practices or breeding history. Despite this within-district heterogeneity, the Catacaos subgroup remained clearly differentiated from goats in Lancones. Principal component analysis of LBMs identified a dominant size axis explaining over 70% of variance, with Catacaos goats diverging along this dimension. In contrast, morphometric indices showed weaker discriminatory power. These findings suggest that LBMs outperform derived indices in capturing fine-scale phenotypic structure and may reflect both ecological adaptation and management-driven selection. Our results underscore the potential of morphometric profiling for identifying regionally adapted livestock types and lay the groundwork for future geographic indication schemes that valorize local biodiversity and support rural livelihoods. The study was conducted as part of the PROCAP project (CUI 2506684), with authorization from the Dirección de Servicios Estratégicos Agrarios (DSEA) of the Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria (INIA), the national authority on agricultural innovation in Peru. The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. CUI: 2506684 (Proyecto PROCAP) 2026-01-09T15:45:50Z 2026-01-09T15:45:50Z 2025-12-31 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Haro-Reyes, J. A., Sessarego, E. A., Cruz, D. J., Gonzales-Guevara, P. R., Ruiz-Chamorro, J. A., & Cruz-Luis, J. A. (2025). Creole goat morphological diversity partially mirrors district-level variation in the seasonally dry forest of Piura in Peru. PLoS One, 20(12), e0339584. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339584 1932-6203 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12955/2986 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339584 eng urn:issn:1932-6203 Public Library of Science info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf application/pdf Public Library of Science US Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria Repositorio Institucional - INIA |
| spellingShingle | Creole goats Morphological diversity Seasonally dry forest Morphometric analysis Linear body measurements Morphometric índices District-level variation Geographic indication Cabras criollas Diversidad morfológica Bosque estacionalmente seco Análisis morfométrico Cuerpo lineal mediciones Índices morfométricos Variación distrital Indicación geográfica https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#4.02.01 Cabra; Nannygoats; Raza; Breeds; Medición del cuerpo; Body measurements; Bosque seco; Dry forests; Zona árida; Arid zones; Variación genética; Genetic variation; Adaptación; Adaptation Haro Reyes, José Antonio Sessarego Davila, Emmanuel Alexander Cruz Flores, Danny Julio Gonzales Guevara, Pablo Ross Ruiz Chamorro, José Antonio Cruz Luis, Juancarlos Alejandro Creole goat morphological diversity partially mirrors district-level variation in the seasonally dry forest of Piura in Peru |
| title | Creole goat morphological diversity partially mirrors district-level variation in the seasonally dry forest of Piura in Peru |
| title_full | Creole goat morphological diversity partially mirrors district-level variation in the seasonally dry forest of Piura in Peru |
| title_fullStr | Creole goat morphological diversity partially mirrors district-level variation in the seasonally dry forest of Piura in Peru |
| title_full_unstemmed | Creole goat morphological diversity partially mirrors district-level variation in the seasonally dry forest of Piura in Peru |
| title_short | Creole goat morphological diversity partially mirrors district-level variation in the seasonally dry forest of Piura in Peru |
| title_sort | creole goat morphological diversity partially mirrors district level variation in the seasonally dry forest of piura in peru |
| topic | Creole goats Morphological diversity Seasonally dry forest Morphometric analysis Linear body measurements Morphometric índices District-level variation Geographic indication Cabras criollas Diversidad morfológica Bosque estacionalmente seco Análisis morfométrico Cuerpo lineal mediciones Índices morfométricos Variación distrital Indicación geográfica https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#4.02.01 Cabra; Nannygoats; Raza; Breeds; Medición del cuerpo; Body measurements; Bosque seco; Dry forests; Zona árida; Arid zones; Variación genética; Genetic variation; Adaptación; Adaptation |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12955/2986 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339584 |
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