Clustering the tumbler pigeons group on their morphological characteristics reveals a eumetrical and a hypermetrical clade

Abstract

The objective of the research was to investigate the relationship among traits in 21 tumbler pigeon breeds and Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) from different traits(body weight, wing length, height, beak base thickness, beak length, nape length, neck thickness, tail length, tarsus length and tarsus thickness traits). In the principal component analysis with var-covar matrix it was found that for all traits first principal component explained more than 99.2% of the total variation, being bodyweight the most discriminative trait. Clustering analysis was performed based and results showed 2 multi-breed clades according to body weight. So we can conclude the existence of two main tumblers clades according to their body weight: a eumetrical group (with a body weight below 300 g) and a hypermetrical group (with a body weight above 300 g) in tumblers group. This kind of analyses can define clades, estimate admixture dates, distinguish geographically diverse populations, and help in the future to determine the source of shared mutations among diverse pigeon tumbler breeds.