Analysis of Weight and Morphometric Characteristics of a General Rat
- September 16, 2020
- Posted by: RSIS Team
- Categories: Biology, IJRIAS
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS) | Volume V, Issue III, February 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186
Analysis of Weight and Morphometric Characteristics of a General Rat
Luka Y.B.1*, Emmanuel B2, Hadiza Z.W.3, Alhaji M.4, Lawan Z.B.5, Jibrin M.M6
1,3,4,6Department of Biology Education, Umar Suleiman College of Education Gashua, Nigeria
2Department of General Studies Umar Suleiman College of Education Gashua
5Department of Chemistry Umar Suleiman College of Education Gashua
*Corresponding Author
Abstract: – This study aimed at studying the body weight (BW) and some morphometric traits at birth, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days of a general rat. Sex effect and the various phenotypic correlations between the traits were evaluated. Traits studied were Body Weight (BW), Head Length (HL), Tail Length (TL), Body Length (BL) and Heart Girth (HG). The coefficient of variation for traits studied were generally high to moderate at various age groups but relatively low at 35 days. The coefficient of variation for traits studied was high for body weight at 7, 14, and 21 days and moderate for head length and tail length at various age groups, but relatively low for heart girth. Traits significantly (p < 0.05) affected by sex were body weight, tail length, body length and heart girth at birth, and head length at 28 days. Phenotypic correlation between BW and all the other traits studied were highly significant (p < 0.001), correlation being higher in younger groups than in older group. Correlation between HL and HG, BL and HG and also between BW and TL at 7, 21 and 35 days respectively were significant at p < 0.01. Also the phenotypic correlation of heart girth (HG) with tail length (TL) and body length (BL) at 21 and 28 days respectively, and also between body weight (BW) and tail length (TL) at 35 days were significant at p < 0.05. This study reveals that morphometric traits can be use as aids to selection in laboratory albino rat’s genetic improvement and also live body weight prediction.
Keywords: Morphometric, Rats, Traits, Measurement, Body weight, sex
