thesis title about goat

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• Data Descriptor
• Open access
• Published: 29 January 2024

Whole-genome resource sequences of 57 indigenous Ethiopian goats

• Shumuye Belay   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6934-2031 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Gurja Belay 2 ,
• Helen Nigussie 2 ,
• Han Jian-Lin   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1527-3963 4 ,
• Abdulfatai Tijjani 3 ,
• Abulgasim M. Ahbara   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9926-6551 5 , 6 ,
• Getinet M. Tarekegn 5 , 7 ,
• Helina S. Woldekiros 8 ,
• Siobhan Mor 3 , 9 ,
• Keith Dobney 10 , 11 ,
• Ophelie Lebrasseur 10 ,
• Olivier Hanotte 3 , 12 &
• Joram M. Mwacharo 5 , 13  

Scientific Data volume  11 , Article number:  139 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Animal breeding
• DNA sequencing

Domestic goats are distributed worldwide, with approximately 35% of the one billion world goat population occurring in Africa. Ethiopia has 52.5 million goats, ~99.9% of which are considered indigenous landraces deriving from animals introduced to the Horn of Africa in the distant past by nomadic herders. They have continued to be managed by smallholder farmers and semi-mobile pastoralists throughout the region. We report here 57 goat genomes from 12 Ethiopian goat populations sampled from different agro-climates. The data were generated through sequencing DNA samples on the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform at a mean depth of 9.71x and 150 bp pair-end reads. In total, ~2 terabytes of raw data were generated, and 99.8% of the clean reads mapped successfully against the goat reference genome assembly at a coverage of 99.6%. About 24.76 million SNPs were generated. These SNPs can be used to study the population structure and genome dynamics of goats at the country, regional, and global levels to shed light on the species’ evolutionary trajectory.

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Background & Summary

Archaeological evidence indicates that all domestic goats ( Capra hircus ) derive from the wild bezoar (Capra aegagrus ) that was domesticated in the central Iranian Zagros Mountains and/or Southeastern Anatolia about 10,000 years ago, making them the first livestock animal to be herded by early farmers 1 , 2 . The world has a population of more than one billion domestic goats 3 and some 576 breeds 4 . Asia and Africa are ranked first and second with 59.4% and 35.0%, of the world’s goat population, respectively 5 , whilst Ethiopia is ranked second in Africa after Nigeria ( https://www.statista.com/statistics/1290087/goat-population-in-africa-by-country/ ). An estimated 52.5 million goats are found in Ethiopia, and nearly all (99.9%) are indigenous genotypes reared by smallholder sedentary agro-pastoral farmers and pastoralists 6 . These indigenous goats are known for their adaptive resilience to diverse environments and production systems 7 , 8 . Because of their ease of management, and minimal initial capital investment, indigenous goats are preferred by smallholder farmers and pastoralists in contrast to cattle. In addition, their socio-economic, nutritional, and cultural significance means that indigenous goats are essential household assets to most African communities.

Although indigenous goats are a significant genetic resource to most agricultural households in Africa and the majority of developing countries, their genetic improvement has been hindered by their lack of systematic characterisation at the phenotypic and genetic levels.

Africa is home to a large genomic reservoir of indigenous goat populations of diverse phenotypes (see Breeds | DAGRIS (cgiar.org) . While previous research has been undertaken on the genetics of African indigenous goats using microsatellite 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 and SNP microarray genotypes 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , relatively few studies have been conducted on these breeds using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) information. For example, for the African continent, WGS are only publicly available in the vargoats database ( https://www.goatgenome.org/vargoats.html ) including for Ethiopia (73 genome sequences of eight breeds) 24 , Morocco (44 genome sequences from three breeds) 25 , Kenya (15 sequences from two breeds), Madagascar (35 sequences from four breeds), Mali (36 sequences from six breeds), Malawi (24 sequences from five breeds), Mozambique (23 sequences from five breeds), Tanzania (39 sequences from five breeds), Uganda (three sequences from one breed), Zimbabwe (20 sequences from two breeds) and Nigeria (three sequences from two breeds) ( https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ). These publicly accessible genome data are important for (i) studying population-level genetic diversity and structure, (ii) understanding domestication and evolutionary history, (iii) detecting adaptation selective sweeps, and (iv) discovering variants (SNPs, structural variants, causative mutations e.t.c.) to address goat breeding challenges and boost goat farming in the continent.

Our study presents new WGS data of 57 indigenous Ethiopian goats from 12 populations, comprising ~2 Tb of raw sequence data. It is by far the most representative dataset of whole genome sequences for goats found in any African country considering a high number of breeds from highly diverse agro-ecosystems. This data includes ~24.76 million usable SNPs that passed rigorous quality control filters, of which approximately 30% are novel. This is a valuable addition of genomic resources to the caprine biological repository in the continent and the globe. It provides an opportunity to detect potential novel SNPs compared to the 50 K SNP chip array previously reported in African goat populations 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 . It also provides a new avenue that facilitates better understanding of salient genomic features (e.g., genes, coding sequence, regulatory regions, pseudogenes, repeat sequences) and/or uncover candidate genomic regions controlling traits of production, reproduction, and adaptive significance. Moreover, the resource can be used to identify (albeit tentatively) opportunities and threats of genetic diversity, which can be used as baseline information to design strategic options for future sustainable utilization of the species. However, ensuring high-quality data with representative samples and performing accurate quality control procedures is of critical importance before one can proceed with mapping against reference genome assemblies, and making the data accessible to the public and opening the door to further research. In this article we present the entire process we used to achieve accurate quality control measurements and procedures from raw data to the final variant call format (VCF) file generation while minimising false positives and detecting true variants.

Sample collection, dna extraction and quality control

Genomic DNA was extracted from the whole blood of 57 genetically not unrelated individuals (only one individual was sampled per flock) 23 , 26 , of 12 indigenous Ethiopian goat populations from diverse agro-eco-climatic zones (Fig.  1 , Table  1 ). The working hypothesis was that these 12 indigenous goat populations are adapted to their production environments’, agroecological and climatic conditions and thus represent distinct genetic units. The genomic DNA was whole-genome sequenced at a depth of ~10x and read length of 150 bp paired-end following library construction, on the Illumina 1.9 NovaSeq 6000 platform (https://en,novogene.com/services/reserachservices/genome-sequencing/whole-genome-sequencing-wgs/). The initial base call files were converted into FASTQ files in the sequencing library prior to quality pruning using the bcl2fastq software 27 . The sequencing company performed the first stage QC of the FASTQ files using their in-house software. Secondary QC of the generated fasta.gz files was performed using the FASTQC package (v0.11.5) 28 . The output files (fastqc.zip) were then aggregated in one directory and a single report was generated and used to visualize and screen biases, and assess the overall sequence quality using the MultiQC package (v1.8) 29 .

Map of the study areas representing the geographic distributions of indigenous Ethiopian goat populations based on: ( a ) Elevation, and ( b ) Agro-ecological zones and climatic conditions. Abbreviations: HHG= Hararghe Highland Goats, LESG=Long Ear Somali goats, SESG=Short Ear Somali goats, and WGG= Woyto-Guji goats.

Genomic alignment and variant calling

After ascertaining sequence quality, the paired-end reads were aligned to the goat reference genome assembly (ARS1; GenBank accession number GCA_001704415.1) using the Burrows-Wheeler Alignment tool (BWA-MEM v 0.7.17) 30 for variant identification. The BAM files were sorted and indexed using SAMtools v1.8 31 . The function “MarkDuplicates” executed in Picard tool v2.18.2 ( http://picard.sourceforge.net ) was used to mark and discard flagged duplicates. After removing the duplicates, Base Quality Score Recalibration (BQSR), a data pre-processing step executed in GATK v3.8-1-0-gf15c1c3ef 32 , was used to estimate the accuracy of each base call and detect systematic errors arising from the sequencing process and generate recalibrated BAM files. The GVCF files for each sample were generated using the GATK HaplotypeCaller from the recalibrated BAM files. Finally, joint genotyping was performed and a single VCF file containing SNP and INDEL variants produced (Fig.  2 ).

The overall workflow of the quality control procedure and parameters used across all the stages of DNA sequencing (data pre-processing, variant discovery, and callset refinement).

Variant filtration and genotype refinement

Variant Quality Score Recalibration (VQSR) step was performed using the knownSites of the ARS1.0 Ensembl version 99 ( https://e99.ensembl.org/capra_hircus ) and filtered out the bad and good variants using the GATK. Variant call annotations such as Read Depth, Quality of Depth, Fisher Strand Test, Mapping Quality Score, Mapping Quality Rank Sum Test, Read Position Rank Sum Test Statistic, StrandOddsRatio Test, mode SNP and the VQSRTranchesSNP90.00 to 100.00 were used. Using the ApplyRecalibration (ApplyVQSR) in GATK, a tranche sensitivity threshold of 99.0% was used to filter the variants. Finally, post-processing was conducted to remove variants failing the GATK filtering parameter thresholds and biallelic SNPs were extracted using ‘SelectVariants’ function with option “–selectType SNP-restrictAllelesTo BIALLELIC” as presented in Fig.  2 . Here, only biallelic SNPs that passed filtration and can be used in downstream analysis are presented.

Data Records

Whole-genome sequence data (FASTQ format) from 57 Ethiopian goat samples representing 12 populations analyzed herein have been deposited in NCBI under Sequence Read Archive (SRA) accession number SRP464279 33 .

Technical Validation

Quality control for raw reads.

The Phred quality score is commonly used as a measure of the quality of the base-calls generated by automated DNA sequencing 34 , 35 . It is calculated with the formula 36 : Q = −10Log 10 (E) where “Q” represents the base quality value, and “E” the error rate of the base recognition. The commonly used Phred-scaled base quality scores range between 2 and 40, with variations in the range depending on the origin of the sequence data 36 . A higher Phred score indicates a higher probability that a given base-call is correct, while the opposite is true. In our study, we used a Phred scaled score of 30 indicating the likelihood of an incorrect base-call once every 1000 bases equivalent to a precision rate of 99.9%. The raw bases of a sample ranged from 28.77 Gb to 44.43 Gb (mean ± SD = 34.97 ± 3.46 Gb), out of which 93–95% (mean ± SD = 94 ± 0.44%) of the samples had Phred scaled quality score of 30 (Fig.  3 ).

Boxplots showing the size of raw bases, Phred quality scores (Q30), and depth of coverage of the 57 indigenous Ethiopian goat genomes.

A depth coverage of greater than 4.4x has the power to identify novel variant calls. On the contrary, higher false-positive variants are amplified when the depth of coverage is lower than 4.4x 37 , 38 . In this study, the depth of coverage ranged from 8.38x to 11x (mean ± SD = 9.71x ± 0.60) (Fig.  3 ), which is an ideal depth for identifying variants accurately and achieved ~99.6% genome coverage and ~99.8% mapping success rate against the ARS1.0 goat reference genome assembly.

Following the quality checks, we gathered the fasta.gz report for the 114 read samples (read 1 and 2) and run the MultiQC to generate a single report and identify good and bad samples. The report indicated that all the samples passed the QC parameters, such as base sequence quality score, sequence duplication level and per base N content, and confirmed the high-quality of our sequences (Fig.  4 ). For example, the level of duplication and unique sequence reads ranged from 16 to 20% and 80 to 84%, respectively (Fig.  4a ). The low level of duplicated reads (<20%) indicate a high level of coverage of the target sequences. In contrast, higher values will show some kind of enrichment bias, such as arising from PCR artefacts, and/or biological duplicates 28 . However, all the QC parameters were assigned green signals, indicating high-quality sequencing standard. Out of the 114 reads generated, only 15 R2 reads showed warning signals (orange colour) of overrepresented sequences. However, these slightly abnormal reads have very low likelihood of affecting the quality of the SNPs and subsequent analysis. Generally, R2 reads have lower sequence quality compared to R1 reads 38 , 39 . This observation has been attributed to the fraction of the fragment length (>500 nucleotides) in the library independent of the tissue source, library type or sequencer model 39 .

Quality control outputs of the high-throughput sequencing data of the 114 samples combined using the MultiQC package: ( a ) Unique and duplicated sequence counts, ( b ) Mean quality value across each base position in the read, ( c ) Per Sequence quality scores, ( d ) Per Sequence GC content, ( e ) Sequences duplication levels, ( f ) Per base N content, ( g ) Per Base sequence content (heatmap of the four nucleotide distributions: A, T, G, C), and ( h ) Adapter content.

The per base sequence content or heatmap of the distribution pattern of the four nucleotides (A, T, G, C) are flagged by a warning signal (Fig.  4g ). In a random library, the normal expectation is that all four bases would be equally (25% of each base) and stably represented across all reads. This, however, is rarely the case as some genomes are either GC or AT rich. At the beginning of our sequences and taking the 2 bp position as an example, the difference between A and T, and G and C bases was 15.1% and 0.7%, respectively, indicating a biased distribution of the four nucleotides. If the difference between A and T, or G and C, in any position is greater than 10%, the per base sequence content will show a warning signal, while a fail signal will result if it is greater than 20% 28 . In Illumina platforms, the beginning and end of reads are more prone to low quality, which results in higher chances of false-positive calls 40 . However, from 10 to 150 bp and taking positions 25–29 bp in our sequences as an example, the difference between A and T, and G and C bases was 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively, which is lower than 10%.

Nevertheless, the overall heatmap depicting the distribution of the four nucleotides shows a slightly abnormal pattern but reasonable bases calls. This, however, has a low likelihood of affecting downstream analysis. This study observed no failed reads (no red signals) and unrecognized bases (N bases). The data can thus be used without QC procedures aimed at either removing adapters and/or poor-quality reads.

The per sequence GC content is another QC metric that is used to assess the quality of the length of each sequence 38 . Generally, the GC content differs across species and genomic region 40 . A normal random library typically has, more-or-less, a normal GC distribution content for all reads. An abnormal distribution could imply either a contaminated library or some systematic biase 28 . However, the GC plot of our data (Fig.  4d ) is not a perfect normal distribution, and it is therefore not surprising that it is assigned a warning signal for all the 114 samples. This will however not affect the subsequent analysis. In this study, the mean GC content per sequence was 42.93%. If the GC content deviates from the average GC content by more than 5% and 10%, it results in a warning and failed signal, respectively 28 . The average GC content of the sequences generated herein approximates that reported in the animal kingdom (41.2%) 41 , and the goat reference genome assembly (42.7%) 42 but is lower than the value reported for archaea (44.88%), bacteria (50.76%), and fungi (47.96%) 41 . Naturally, mycobacterial DNA is GC rich and more stable than that of mammalians.

SNP Quality control

Following joint genotyping with GenotypeGVCFs, a total of 26.99 million markers were identified in the sex and autosomal chromosomes, including multiallelic SNPs. VQSR filtering was applied to remain with the actual variants. Further filtration was applied to the dataset using ApplyVQSR with a threshold value of 99.0%, indicating that we accept that 1.0% of the variants in the truth set may be incorrect. Following this filtration and the post-processing filtrations, 24.76 million autosomal biallelic SNPs were retained across the 57 samples. These were used to investigate population level genomic diversity, structure, and dynamics.

The total number of SNPs and annotated variants are presented in Supplementary Table  1 . On average, 13.78 million SNPs, 1.65 million indels and 3.07 million novel variants were detected with no significant differences being observed between populations. These SNPs were annotated and an average of ~0.8% exonic, ~45% intronic, ~41% intergenic, ~9% Up/Downstream and other small variants were detected (Supplementary Table  1 ).

The sequencing depth, base quality scores, GC content, duplication rates, base sequence content etc., are efficient and accurate QC filtering parameters for raw read sequence data. Unlike these QC parameters, the transition/ transversion (Ti/Tv), and heterozygous/nonreference-homozygous (het/hom), ratios cannot be used directly to filter individual SNPs but can rather be used to measure the overall SNP quality for high-throughput sequence data 43 .

In actual sequencing data, the Ti and Tv ratio is frequently above 0.5 43 . Inter-species comparisons 44 and previous sequencing projects agree on a Ti/Tv ratio of ∼ 2.0–2.1 for genome-wide datasets 45 while the expected values for this ratio for known and new variants are 2.10 and 2.07, respectively but a value of up to 2.4 44 but not exceeding 4.0 38 , 43 is acceptable. A significant deviation from the expected values could indicate artefactual variants resulting in biased estimates. Following VQSR filtration with the default tranche sensitivity threshold values (100.0, 99.9, 99.0 and 90.0%), the Ti/Tv ratio for our sequences ranged between 1.8 and 2.26 before the final filtration (Fig.  5a ). Further filtration using ApplyRecalibration, with the tranche sensitivity threshold of 99.0% and restricting the alleles into biallelic SNPs, raised the ratio to 2.39 for the final SNP dataset. However, the Ti/Tv ratio varies with the genomic region (e.g. intronic, intergenic, exonic) but is not or is little affected by population ancestry 43 . Additionally, in each Ethiopian goat population, the transition mutation is more than twice the transversion mutations (Fig.  5b ). However, the effects of the former on amino acid substitution are less detrimental than the latter 46 .

Quality control parameters using SNP data. ( a ) Tranches plot generated by VariantRecalibrator (VQSR). In this plot, the x-axis indicates the number of putative novel variants called true- and false-positive variants. In contrast, the y-axis shows two quality metrics: novel transition to transversion (Ti/Tv) ratio and the overall truth sensitivity, TPs= True-positives (the called variants in our callset and also present in the truth dataset), and FPs=False-positives (the called variants in our callset but not present in the truth dataset), ( b ) Nucleotide base substitution taking place in each goat population, and ( c ) Heterozygous/non-reference-homozygous (het/hom) ratio in each goat population.

Similarly, under Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium assumptions, the expected value for the het/hom ratio in human WGS is estimated to be 2.0 40 . Population ancestry can affect the het/hom ratio but has not been observed to vary across the genome 43 . In our study, the het/hom ratio ranged from 1.26 in Agew to 1.48 in Afar goats (Fig.  5c ). These ratios do not deviate much from that reported in humans (2.0) and is thus a good indicator of the quality of the sequences.

The SNP density is another important parameter for assessing sequence quality (Supplementary Table  2 ). A high SNP frequency, for example, two SNPs within 10 bp genomic distance, or within a short region of the genome, could indicate false-positive calls, possibly due to indels 40 . In our analysis, the SNP density and variant distribution for each chromosome were determined using VCFtools (v0.1.15) with the command line “–SNPdensity1000.” This command counted the number of variants found in each chromosome within a 1000 bp window size and the mean and standard deviation of the SNP density was computed using R software (v4.1.0) 47 . The tidyverse package in R was used to group and visualize the SNP density for each chromosome. The highest (11.42 ± 6.6 per kb) and lowest (8.66 ± 6.2 per kb) SNP density (mean one SNP in 0.01 kb) was observed in chromosome 28 and 18, respectively, which confirms the high-quality of our sequences.

Code availability

The steps from quality control to variant calling and refinement are presented below.

1 . FASTQC (v0.11.5): code for quality control for high throughput sequence data

fastqc -t 8 /my_sample_R1. fastq.gz

fastqc -t 8 /my_sample_R2. fastq.gz

2 . MulitQC (v1.8): Consolidate all the samples using “multiqc.”

3 . BWA-mem (0.7.17); code for mapping raw reads

RGID = “ID_my_sample”, RGSM = “ID” bwa mem -t 8 -k 32 -M -R @RG\\tID: ${RGID}\\tLB:${RGSM}\\tPL:ILLUMINA\\tSM:${RGSM}${REF} ${input}/${RGID}.R1.fastq.gz ${input}/${RGID}.R2.fastq.gz | samtools view -bS - > ${my_sample}.bam

4 . Samtools (v1.8): code for sorting and indexing bam files

samtools sort ${my_sample}. bam > ${my_sample}.sorted.bam

samtools index ${my_sample}. sorted.bam -@ 8

5 . Picard (v2.18.2) : code for marking duplicate reads :

java -Xmx8G -jar ${picard}/picard.jar MarkDuplicates I = ${my_sample}.sorted.bam

o = ${my_sample}_dedup.bam M = ${my_sample}_dedup.metrics.txt

TMP_DIR = ${KNOWNVAR}/tmp

MAX_FILE_HANDLES_FOR_READ_ENDS_MAP = 4000

OPTICAL_DUPLICATE_PIXEL_DISTANCE = 2500

CREATE_INDEX = true VALIDATION_STRINGENCY = LENIENT

# To calculate the total number of clean reads, mapped and unmapped reads

samtools flagstat ${my_sample}_dedup.bam > ${my_sample}_dedup.flagstat.txt

6 . GATK (v3.8-1-0-gf15c1c3ef): codes for Base Quality Score Recalibration (BQSR) steps

# BQSR applies machine learning and builds a mode of covariation (true variation and artifacts) based on the input data and set of known variants as training resources and truth sets .

java -Xmx80G -jar ${GATK} -T BaseRecalibrator -R ${REF}

-I ${my-sample}_dedup.bam -knownSites ${KNOWNVAR}

-o ${my_sample}_recal_table

#Apply the recalibration to your sequence data

java -Xmx80G -jar ${GATK} -T PrintReads -R ${REF}

-I ${my_sample}_dedup.bam -BQSR ${my_sample}_drecal_table

-o ${my_sample}_recal.bam

7 . GATK (v3.8-1-0-gf15c1c3ef):Codes for variant calling in GVCF mode by HaplotypeCaller

java -Xmx80G -jar ${GATK}

-T HaplotypeCaller

-I ${my_sample}_recal.bam

--genotyping_mode DISCOVERY

--emitRefConfidence GVCF

--variant_index_type LINEAR

--variant_index_parameter 128000

-stand_call_conf 30

-o ${my_sample}_g.vcf.gz

8 . GATK (v3.8-1-0-gf15c1c3ef): Joint genotyping for all individual VCF samples

# Use either --variant or -V options

java -d64 -Xmx48g -jar ${GenomeAnalysisTK.jar}

-T GenotypeGVCFs -R ${REF}

--variant my_sample_g.vcf.gz --variant my_sample1_g.vcf.gz --variant my_sample2_g.vcf.gz

--dbsnp ${KNOWNVAR}

-o allsample_joint.vcf.gz

9 . GATK (v3.8-1-0-gf15c1c3ef): Code for VQSR steps

java -d64 -Xmx48g -jar ${GenomeAnalysisTK.jar} -T VariantRecalibrator -R ${REF} -input ${allsample_joint}. vcf.gz

-resource: dbSNP, known = false, training = true, truth = true, prior = 15.0${TRUEVAR}

-resource: dbSNP, known = true, training = false, truth = false, prior = 2.0${KNOWNVAR}

-an DP -an QD -an MQRankSum -an ReadPosRankSum -an FS -an SOR -mode SNP

-tranche 100.0 -tranche 99.9 -tranche 99.0 -tranche 90.0

-recalFile ${allsample_joint)_recalibrate_SNP.recal

-tranchesFile ${allsample_joint}_recalibrate_SNP.tranches

-rscriptFile ${allsample_joint}_recalibrate_SNP_plots.R

#Apply the SNP recalibration model to the variant call sets using ApplyRecalibration GATK walker .

java -d64 -Xmx48g -Djava.io.tmpdir =  $ {allsample_joint.vcf}/javatempdir -jar ${GenomeAnalysisTK.jar} -T ApplyRecalibration -R ${REF}

-input ${allsample_joint). vcf.gz

--ts_filter_level 99.0 -mode SNP

-recalFile ${allsample_joint}_recalibrate_SNP.recal

-o ${allsample_joint}_snp_VQSR_ApplyRecal_filtered.vcf.gz

#Post-processing to remove variants failing the GATK filtering parameters and restricting the alleles into biallelic markers only .

java -d64 -Xmx48g -jar ${GenomeAnalysisTK.jar} -R ${REF}

-T SelectVariants

--variant ${allsample_joint} _snp_VQSR_ApplyRecal_filtered.vcf.gz

-o ${final_filtered}. vcf.gz

-selectType SNP

-restrictAllelesTo BIALLELIC

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the flock owners who provided their animals for sampling and extension workers for their assistance in sample collection, Gebreslassie Gebru for his technical support and Prof. Baylis Matthew and the other HORN project staff for their financial and facilitation work. We also thank the University of Liverpool, Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) One Health Regional Network for the Horn of Africa (HORN) Project funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) (project number BB/P027954/1); the BecA-ILRI Hub through the Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) Program; Tigray Agricultural Research Institute (TARI); Addis Ababa University, Department of Microbial Cellular and Molecular Biology, and the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock (Livestock CRP) and its successor SAPLING Initiative through the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), for financial and logistical support.

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S.B., G.B., H.S.W., S.M., K.D., O.L., O.H. and J.M.M. designed the study. G.M.T. collected samples and extracted D.N.A. S.B., A.T. and A.M.A. performed the analysis. S.B. wrote the initial draft. G.B., H.N., H.J., G.M.T., K.D., O.L., O.H. and J.M.M. reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final draft.

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Belay, S., Belay, G., Nigussie, H. et al. Whole-genome resource sequences of 57 indigenous Ethiopian goats. Sci Data 11 , 139 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-02973-2

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Goat lactation research as a gateway for the development of the dairy goat industry

Noemí castro.

Animal Production and Biotechnology Group, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Spain

Aridany Suarez-Trujillo

Department of Animal Science, Berry Colle, Mount Berry, GA 30149

Marta Gonzalez-Cabrera

Lorenzo e hernandez-castellano, anastasio argüello, implications.

• Milk somatic cell count is not a suitable indicator for goat’s udder health.
• Milking management protocols should be based on udder morphology characteristics which are influenced by genotype.
• Research gaps related to how perform a quick subclinical mastitis test on dairy goat farms.

Introduction

The importance of dairy goats has increased in the last decades because of the higher demand for dairy goat products for human consumption. The dairy goat industry is constantly expanding, and the global goat herd has risen exponentially during the last decade compared to sheep and cattle. Goat milk represents 2.3% of global milk production, higher than sheep (1.3%). Some key factors for the success of the goat industry are the greater breed diversity (>500 breeds) and their capacity to adapt to harsh conditions in most environments. Goat milk is gaining interest due to its organoleptic properties and lower allergenic components in developed countries. These key factors make dairy goat production a unique alternative in developing countries. Dairy goats with high-yielding genotypes are mainly located in Europe. In addition, dairy goats fit the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, mainly because they reinforce the role of women in agriculture and their economic independence. Goats can be easily owned and maintained, and their milk is an essential source of nutrition for children. For these reasons, the study of goat lactation is an important issue nowadays.

Lactation, Milking, and Mammary Gland

The diversity of goat breeds impacts multiple variables, such as lactation period length, milk yield, and lactation persistency. Thus, the lactation length in goats can differ not only depending on the breed but also on the type of management, lasting from 7 to 10 months and peaking between 4 and 8 weeks in most breeds ( Salama et al., 2005 ). Moreover, lactation persistency greatly variates depending on genetic traits and the shape of the lactation curve ( Arnal et al., 2018 ). Milk yield and composition in dairy goats also vary depending on the breed; thus, the average milk ranges from 700 Kg ( Arnal et al., 2018 ), 3.3% fat and 2.9% protein in Saanen or Alpine to 550 Kg, 3.94% fat and 3.9% protein in Majorera breed (adjusted to 210 days records) ( Fresno et al., 2009 ). The variation in lactation length and persistency between breeds and management systems makes comparing scientific studies and industry standardization extremely difficult.

The effect of milking management is highly important due to breed diversity. Although goats are machine milked in developed countries, hand-milking management is still used in developing areas. The selection of the milking parameters (vacuum pressure, pulsation rate, and pulsation ratio) is crucial to preserve the udder health and milk quality. Milking vacuum pressure commonly ranges from 38 to 42 Kpa, the pulsation rate should be from 90 to 120 pulse/min, and the pulsation ratio should be 60/40, however the breed is always a factor to be considered when selecting suitable milking parameters. Thus, in the case of Saanen goats 35–38 Kpa and 90–120 pulses/min or 42 Kpa and 90 pulses/min for Majorera goats have been reported as adequate milking parameters ( Le Du and Benmederbel, 1984 ; Billon et al., 2005 ; Torres et al., 2013 ). Milking frequency highly depends on the technology used on the farm. It is common twice daily milking in highly technological farms, obtaining 15% more milk ( Komara et al., 2009 ). However, small-scale farms usually milk once daily because the increase in milk yield is insufficient to cover the extra labor costs. In addition, in some dairy breeds adapted to milking once a day, the more frequent milking does not considerably increase milk yield ( Capote et al., 2000 ).

The udder glandular parenchyma is responsible for milk synthesis and comprises tubule-alveolar glands. Connective tissue surrounds the glandular and provides support to the udder. The mammary gland anatomy and histology change throughout the lactation cycle and affect milk quantity and quality traits ( Léiras et al., 2014 ). In the seventies, multiple research groups clarified the milk synthesis process by the caprine lactocyte. Nowadays, it is clear that the goat milk secretion process is mainly apocrine, quite different compared with cattle. What does this mean? It means that part of the lactocyte, with its content, is pinched off the cell and poured into the alveolar lumen, and those portions of the lactocyte are known as cytoplasmic fragments, which are highly present in the milk. This different milk secretion mechanism, merocrine (cow) versus apocrine (goat), could be the reason for the different consistency for somatic cells count (SCC) as a predictor of intramammary infections, which must be face in the next years by the scientific community.

In milk, somatic cells ( SCs ) are mainly neutrophils, lymphocytes, and macrophages. They are the surveillant immune system in the mammary gland, which means that SCs react by increasing their number and activity to protect the mammary tissue from infections. The use of SC count in milk as a quality standard in cows is extended worldwide, but the topic has a shaky history in goats. The California Mastitis Test is the on-farm standardized detection method for mastitis in dairy ruminants. The procedure detects clinical and subclinical mastitis and is based on the reaction between the DNA from SC with the testing reagent. The increase of SC as a response to mastitis increases the amount of DNA in milk, and the test will be more reactive. The problem in goats appears when an increased SC count in the milk is not concurrent with an infection. There are reports of increased SC in goats, to levels that are considered pathological in cattle, during the beginning and the end of lactation, during the estrous cycle, under stress, or as individual idiosyncrasy. In fact, Zeng and Escobar (1995) reported that milk with high SCC (over 1 × 10 6 SC/mL) can be obtained from healthy goat udders. The larger number of SC in the milk of healthy goats makes the diagnosis of subclinical mastitis and the management of herd health difficult. The use of nobel techniques, such as proteomics looking for specific biomarkers in goat milk, should be reinforced, thus the identification and prevention may be improved. Thresholds have been set for SC count in goat milk in different countries and unset years after because there is no conclusive scientific evidence of its use in goat milk. That is the case in the United States, where the SC standard for goat milk increased from 1 × 10 6 somatic cells/mL to 1.5 × 10 6 somatic cells/mL (grade “A”), most likely because of the influence of not infectious factors on the SCC. In fact, despite some countries in Europe established a threshold in the past, currently the EU lacks an SCC level in the goat milk standards, most likely because of the cited uncertainties ( Haenlein, 2002 ). However, in some places the dairy industry includes this variable as a requirement for goat milk reception.

The breed, age, and lactation stage influence goats’ cisternal and alveolar partitioning of the udder. Cisternal milk in dairy cows represents 30% of the stored milk ( Ayadi et al., 2004 ) and in dairy goats can reach at least 66% ( Suárez-Trujillo et al., 2013 ). Goats have larger cisterns than cows, and the teat insertion is more horizontally and laterally in several breeds ( Figure 1 ). These udder characteristics make the manual intervention during milking necessary to remove the milk below the teat insertion ( Torres et al., 2013 ). Thus, in some goat breeds, machine-stripping milk ( MSM ) is considered the milk that requires manual intervention to be collected. As MSM fraction increases, the manual time intervention increases, which implies more labor costs. Furthermore, automatic cluster removers are not helpful in those breeds where manual intervention is required because once the cluster is removed, the milker must put it again, which is not recommended for preserving the udder’s health.

Teat insertion in Majorera dairy goats.

The goat mammary gland anatomy displays a large cistern compared to other ruminants such as ewes and cows. The large cistern allows goats to accumulate more milk between milkings than the other two species, and to be less dependent on oxytocin for milk let-down. Goats with a high milk yield and flow rate show no increase in oxytocin levels. According to this knowledge, the standard milking routine in dairy goat farms includes teat cleaning, foremilk stripping, immediate cluster attachment, machine milk removal, stripping machine milk removal, cluster removal, and teat dipping. However, recently it has been described that dairy goats present different milk let-downs based on other stimuli ( González-Quirino et al., 2021 ).

The exchange of knowledge about lactation from dairy cows to dairy goats seems to be not adequate because of the significant differences between these two ruminants. Additionally, the high variability in most traits, principally due to genetic diversity, makes further studies about mammary gland physiology, milk yield, and composition, especially those related to the SC counts, essential for a growing industry. Although a challenge for the coming years, developing a suitable subclinical mastitis test specific for dairy goats would be very helpful for goat farmers.

About the Authors

Noemí Castro is Associate Professor for the Animal Science Department at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria University (ULPGC), Canary Islands, Spain. Presently, she coordinates de Animal Production and Biotechnology research team and the Master of Animal Health and Food Safety at ULPGC. She is the author or coauthor in over 96 peer-reviewed articles (JCR), over 30 articles in nonrefereed publications, 5 book chapters and over 150 abstracts in meetings. H-index 26 (clarivate). She is the associate editor of the Journal of Applied and Animal Research, and a frequent reviewer in different journals (JCR). She has been involved on the board of different International Scientific meetings, such as the XI International Conference on Goats, Small Ruminants Committee of the ADSA, being chair of the 2021 ADSA Annual Meeting. Her favorite research topics are colostrum quality, goat newborn management, immunity, milking, and milkability. She currently is President of the International Goat Association.

Aridany (Ary) Suarez is an Assistant Professor of Animal Sciences at Berry College. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Sciences, master’s, and PhD in Animal Health and Food Safety at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in The Canary Islands, Spain. After finishing his graduate programs, he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Department of Animal Science at Purdue University. During this period, he participated in multiple studies focused on understanding the role of the circadian timing system on mammary gland physiology. Those studies were developed in dairy cows, mice, humans, and cell cultures. His current research focuses on the influence of periparturient parasite rise in sheep on colostrum and milk quality.

Marta González Cabrera , PhD Student in Animal Health and Food Safety program at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. I studied Veterinary Medicine at the same university, earning my bachelor’s degree in 2021. In 2022, I got a Master degree in Animal Health and Food Safety Institute (IUSA), defending my dissertation on the effect of intramammary application of bacterial lipopolysaccharides on dairy goats. Currently, I am working as a Predoctoral Researcher at Animal Production and Biotechnology group at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on account of a local government grant. As part of this group, I am investigating on immune development in newborn ruminants (calves, lambs, and kids); blood, milk, colostrum, and mammary gland proteomics; seasonal weight loss (feed restriction) on mammary gland and lactation physiology and milk quality; and biomarkers for mastitis detection.

Lorenzo E. Hernandez-Castellano . I studied at the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC, Spain), where I obtained my Veterinary degree and my Master in Animal Health and Food Safety. I defended my PhD thesis at the ULPGC (2013) under a European Doctorate basis ( Doctor europeus ). During my PhD, I performed research stays in Portugal (4 months), Denmark (3 months), and United States (3 months). From 2014 to 2017 (42 months), I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bern (Switzerland). After a few months as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics (Aarhus University, Denmark), I was selected for an associate professor position at the Department of Animal Science (AU) where I worked until January 2021, as I got one Ramón y Cajal contract offered by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación e Universidades (Spain). From February 2021, I am working at the ULPGC as Ramón y Cajal researcher.

Anastasio Argüello earned the degrees of Bachelor of Veterinary Science (1995) and a PhD (2000, Animal Science). After a postdoctoral period of research in the USDA (Beltsville, MD), he moved to the Animal Science Department of the ULPGC as Assistant Professor and finally got the full Professor with tenure in 2015. He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Applied Animal research and an expert in small ruminant production. She is the author or coauthor of 142 Publications from the Web of Science Core Collection and 40 articles in nonrefereed publications, 3 book chapters, manuals, and over 200 abstracts in meetings. H-index 28 according to Clarivate. Recently he organized the first International Scientific Meeting on Colostrum. His main research interests are colostrum, immunology, meat, milk, and cheeses.

Contributor Information

Noemí Castro, Animal Production and Biotechnology Group, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Spain .

Aridany Suarez-Trujillo, Department of Animal Science, Berry Colle, Mount Berry, GA 30149.

Marta Gonzalez-Cabrera, Animal Production and Biotechnology Group, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Spain.

Lorenzo E Hernandez-Castellano, Animal Production and Biotechnology Group, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Spain.

Anastasio Argüello, Animal Production and Biotechnology Group, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Spain.

Conflict of interest statement . None declared.

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Characterization of Goat Production Systems and On-farm Evaluation of the Growth Performance of Grazing Goats Supplemented with Different Protein Sources in Metema Woreda, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

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Elias Bayou

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This study was conducted to study the morphological characteristics of indigenous goats breed under farmer’s management condition in Ancher and Gemechis districts, West Hararghe Zone, Eastern Ethiopia. The most frequently observed coat color pattern of goat was (60.8%) plain, (9.1%) spotted and (30.1%) were patchy coat color and coat color type in the study area was brown (36.8%) followed by white (24.7%). Heart girth had consistently the highest correlation coefficient (0.80), (0.76), (0.90) with body weight of intact male, female and castrated male goat respectively in both study districts. The mean of body weight, body length, chest girth, wither height, chest width, pelvic width, face length, horn length, rump length, ear length intact male are 38.1±0.7, 65.2±0.63, 74.0±0.70, 69.0±0.48, 15.0±0.12, 15.±0.14, 19.8±0.18, 16.0±0.56, 16.0±0.23, 14.4±0.14, respectively. The corresponding values for the female goat were 32.0±0.22, 62.0±0.20, 70.0±0.22, 64.7±0.15, 14.2±0.04, 13.8±0.04, 19.0±0.06, 12.0±0.23, 15.0±0.07, 14.1±0.04, respectively. The mean of body weight, body length, chest girth, wither height, chest width, pelvic width, face length, horn length, rump length, ear length castrated male are 44.4±0.42, 69.6±0.37, 78.9±0.42, 72.9±0.29, 15.1±0.07, 16.4±0.08, 20.5±0.12, 18.1±0.44, 15.8±0.14, 14.7±0.08, respectively. The body weight of castrated male goat was higher than the intact male and female goat in both districts. As conclusion castrated male goat has potential for improving income and to increase economy of smallholder farmers in the study areas as well as in the surrounding areas.

Breeding Objective, Breeding Practice, Selection Criteria

Mohammed Yousuf, Tesfaye Getachew, Elias Bayou. (2021). On farm Phenotypic Characterization of Indigenous Goat Breeds within Their Production System in Ancher and Gemechis Districts, West Hararghe Zone, Eastern Ethiopia. American Journal of Life Sciences , 9 (2), 25-35. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20210902.12

Mohammed Yousuf; Tesfaye Getachew; Elias Bayou. On farm Phenotypic Characterization of Indigenous Goat Breeds within Their Production System in Ancher and Gemechis Districts, West Hararghe Zone, Eastern Ethiopia. Am. J. Life Sci. 2021 , 9 (2), 25-35. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20210902.12

Mohammed Yousuf, Tesfaye Getachew, Elias Bayou. On farm Phenotypic Characterization of Indigenous Goat Breeds within Their Production System in Ancher and Gemechis Districts, West Hararghe Zone, Eastern Ethiopia. Am J Life Sci . 2021;9(2):25-35. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20210902.12

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• Published: 19 July 2019

Assessment of the traditional goat production systems in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt

• S. Abd-Allah 1 ,
• M. I. Mohamed 1 ,
• M. M. Shoukry 1 ,
• Fatma M. Salman 1 &
• H. H. Abd- El Rahman 1  

Bulletin of the National Research Centre volume  43 , Article number:  114 ( 2019 ) Cite this article

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Metrics details

Description of goat populations in Egypt is necessary for providing information on common goat types and their characteristics and may be essential for the pointing and accomplishment of any intervention strategies willing to preserve and manage goat genetical resources at the rural districts based level. The aim of this study, therefore, was to characterize traditional goat production systems in some villages of the Nile Delta in Egypt. We conducted structured questionnaire interviews and participatory assessments for five villages of Menoufia governorate involved in farming livestock and in animal health. Elementary data were collected using an interview scheduled. Data composed on socio-demographic characteristics of the farmers were analyzed using frequency counts and percentages.

Recorded data indicated that there were different contributions of livestock species to household livelihood. The results recorded that most of the farmers were male in all villages. The livestock owned comprised of buffalo, local cattle, crossbred cattle, sheep, donkey, chicken, rabbits, and ducks. There was general agreement among the respondents that crop farming, livestock, and goats were important for livelihoods, where it recorded the highest percentage (79, 77, and 76%), respectively. Twin kids of goats were the majority type of births (62%), also does with multiple births were more popular and preferred (98%) for farmers compared to single births (2%). With regard to production categories, the number of goat kids born emerged as the highly important categories for keeping goats in the opinion of all farmers (70%). Most of farmers indicated that crop farming and livestock keeping as the main system in their livelihoods (69%). Irrespective of the village, a large percentage of farmers (89%) indicated that cash income from the sale of goats was one of the important reasons for keeping the goat. Daily milk yields were not estimated by farmers and not taken into account. Most of the farmers (90%) indicated that lack of access to improved goats is the main constraint specified. Parasites (both internal and external) and pneumonia were recorded as important disease categories, but internal parasites were given high importance by all farmers (31%). Goats did not sell through any formal market channel in villages under study and goat meat is not found in any butchery or shelves of the villages’ supermarkets.

Conclusions

From these results, we concluded that this study can provide us with a baseline survey of which the information can be used in future projects to develop the traditional goat production systems in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt.

Introduction

The Arab Republic of Egypt (ARE) has a surface of 1,001,449 km 2 , but only 50,000 km 2 are habitable and correspond basically to the Nile river irrigated lands. Geographically and in a simplified way, the country is divided into two regions, known as Upper (Nile Valley) and Lower Egypt (Nile Delta). The Delta region is the fourth of the seven regions of Egypt. It includes the governorates of Gharbia, Dakahlia, Damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh, and Menoufia with a total area of 12,357.4 km 2 (2.94 million feddans) representing about 1.22% of the total area of the Republic. It also has about 19,145,755 people according to 2015 estimates. In 2018, the total population of Menoufia was 4,366,000 people, with a rural population representing 78.37% of the total governorate population (CAPMAS 2018 ). A rural community is a part of land outside the densely populated urban areas in a city or town. The rural communities are traditionally areas not included in the urban definition and are usually large, open areas with little people and few houses, compared to urban areas which have larger populations. In rural communities, people live further away from one another and the distances between their homes and businesses are greater (Safeopedia 2019 ). Livestock and crop farming are the major source of food production and income in rural areas (Kunene and Fossey 2006 ). Goats are also kept as a source of cash, insurance against poverty, and also for other purposes (Sibisi 1981 ). Goats often require less start-up capital and can easily be raised even by poor people with limited land resources. Many development organizations in rural districts encourage rearing of goats to improve the income and nutrition status of the resource-poor people (Randolph et al. 2007 ). From our point of view and according to my previous studies, goats are consider as the most important small ruminants, which can be best exploited to escape from the poverty trap, especially for farmers in rural areas because they provide tangible benefits such as cash income from sales, meat, manure, skins, and fiber (Abd-Allah 2014 ; Abd-Allah et al. 2015 , 2016 ). The aim of this study was to provide a great deal of information on traditional goat production systems in rural areas through assessing reproductive performance, reasons for keeping goats, and main constraints of goats under rural management condition in the Nile Delta in Egypt.

Materials and methods

Location of the study area.

Menoufia governorate lies in the South of the middle Delta region between Damietta (Dumyat) and Rosetta (Rashid) branches. It is bordered by Gharbia in the North, by Giza in the South West, by Qaliobia in the South East, and by El-Beheira governorate in the West. This area is located at 30.52° N and 30.99° E, it takes the triangle shape, where its head is the South, and its base is the North. The area experiences relatively moderate temperatures, with highs usually not surpassing 31 °C (88 °F) in the summer. Receiving rainfall with an annual average between 100 and 200 mm falls on the Delta area during a year and most of this rainfall in the winter season. The summer season begins in June and the hottest temperatures are in July and August, with a maximum average of 34 °C (93 °F). Winter temperatures are normally in the range of 9 °C (48 °F) at nights to 19 °C (66 °F) in the daytime. Agriculture is the main activity in the governorate due to its fertile soil. Total cultivated area covers 378.43 thousand feddans. Ashmoun is considered one of the poorer rural districts and it is located in the southern part of the Menoufia. It is the largest district in Menoufia, and a large number of animals and production is concentrated here. Ashmoun shares borders with the districts El-Bagour, Menouf, and Sadat in the North, Qaliobia governorate in the East and South, Giza governorate in the West.

For this study, five villages were purposively selected from Ashmoun district, based on the following criteria: village farmers were able to provide information related to this study, every village contained more than 100 households and ease of access. Although ideally all five villages would have been included in the study, resources for this study were limited and insufficient. The majority of the people depend on smallholder subsistence farming. The majority of the farmers in the villages are poor and typically own small plots of land of fewer than two feddans. Traditionally, the agricultural practices of the farmers in these villages consist of planting field crops, vegetables, and raising livestock.

Importance of livestock to farmers in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt

Participants.

We have chosen farmers randomly with the help of the butchers and agricultural extension workers. In this way, invitations were issued to 100 participants orally and it was assumed that some invitees would not respond. Fortunately, this did not happen; while in other cases, residents of the village that had not been invited showed interest and joined a farmer group. All participants were asked to answer the questionnaire in accordance with their own experience and knowledge. Any points requiring clarification or explanation were dealt with during the time when respondents gave their answers to the questions. The nature of the questionnaire was not disclosed and was conducted in an open dialog with them and was recorded completely through the mobile phone without their knowledge to ensure the transparency and credibility of the talk. Individual farmers were interviewed separately or in groups. Therefore, different views are likely to play a role in responses given. However, any group’s responses to questions were very unlikely to have been influenced by other groups.

Data collection

This study was conducted during a 2-year questionnaire (from April 2016 to August 2018). Surveys were conducted among livestock farmers (the word farmers refer to land farmers or owners) in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt. For all surveys, questionnaires were developed in English and later translated to Arabic. We used simple language, which is the prevalent language suitable for farmers’ levels. Questionnaires were pilot tested and changes were made where things were unclear and could be misunderstood by survey participants. In addition to questionnaires, we were interested to register most of the farmer observations in checklists. Also, we were taking photos and voice recordings by phone as often as possible. The collected data were covering the socio-demographic characteristics of farmers including the age of the farmer, sex of the head of the family, marital status, level of education of the farmer, land ownership, and sources of income. Specific and detailed information about the role of goats, production system, management problems and potentials, and how to overcome these problems were the main topics of the interviews. Information concerning problems and potential for goat production in each village were collected using participatory diagnosis. Data obtained included broad agricultural production systems, the importance of goats to the villagers, reasons of keeping goat, advantages and disadvantages of goat production, reproductive performances, and farmers’ experience to overcome the problems associated with the keeping of goats. The findings of the questionnaires, after analysis, were used as the basis of the results recorded and discussed in this study.

Statistical analysis

All responses from all villages were collected, checked, and filed in groups according to the categories of respondents. Data collected from the respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequencies counts, and percentages by using the statistical package (SPSS 2008 ).

General information of farmers in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt

Table  1 gives the basic socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt. The mean age of the farmers ranged from 20 to > 60 years. The respondents were mainly in their active age of between 20 and 50 years old. The mean age of the farmers (23%) were between the ages 31 and 40, 22% were between the ages 41 and 50, and 20% were less than 30 years old; only 10% of the farmers were above 60 years old. Majority of the farmers interviewed were married (79%) (Table  1 ). The assessment of their education level indicated that 14% of farmers did not go to school and 67% of farmers have acquired primary and secondary education while 19% of farmers have a university qualification. The majority of the farmers pointed out that their land was being leased (40%) while others’ land source is through the family (28%) and owner (32%)..

The main source of income was work (30%) and a combination of sales and work (15%) (Table  1 ). The types of work reported were the construction work in the village of Shanway, cultivation of the ornamental trees in the village of Kafr El-Hama, the manufacture of hand-made carpets in the village of Sakyet Abu Sha’ra, and others (agricultural works) in both the villages of Samalay and Kafr El-Pharaonia. A pension was the sole income of 14% of the farmers.

There was general agreement among the respondents that crop farming, livestock, and specially goats were important for livelihoods, where it recorded the highest percentages 79, 77, and 76%, respectively. It also has the highest percentage for the different villages under study. The livestock types kept in the villages were buffalo, local cattle, crossbred cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys, chickens, ducks, and rabbits (Table  2 ). Majority of the farmers were not interested in Buffalo. Sixty-eight percent of the farmers were interested in sheep, 76% were interested in goats, while 47% were interested in buffalo. The number of farmers interested ranged between 8 and 13 farmers, while the common range in local cattle was between 6 and 12.

The results presented in Fig.  1 indicated that goats were the highest importance for the total livestock in all villages, followed by other livestock (chickens, ducks, and rabbits); however, the donkeys were the lowest (22%).

Constraints for goat farmers in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt

Productive and reproductive traits of baladi goats in rural areas of the nile delta in egypt.

Reports of the survey study showed that the common flock size of goats reared by farmer households was a 1–3 head. On average, the flocks consisted of 72% adult females and 28% entire males of all villages (Table  3 ). Mortalities were relatively high at the early stages of age and gradually decreased with the progress of the newborn kids in age as shown in Table  3 .

When farmers’ observations about the reproductive behavior of goats were recorded, most farmers decided that the first estrus (74%) and the first mating (64%) of does were relatively higher in the second half of the first year of age, specifically in the last quarter of the year. The kidding pattern of does showed distinct peaks throughout the year which the majority of the farmers (86%) recorded that the kidding intervals less than or equal to 1 year and the age that ranges between 8 and 12 months were common in the area of study. While kidding intervals for more than one year were recorded for about 14% of farmers.Twin kids were the majority type of births (62%), also does with multiple births were more popular and preferred (98%) for farmers compared to single births (2%). Across the villages under study, kids born as single were mentioned more frequently to have a generally high survival rate (72%). However, twin kids also performed relatively well (26%) as shown in Table  3 .

Importance of production categories of Baladi goats in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt

Table  4 gives the percentages for importance of production categories of goats. In relation to production categories, the number of kids born emerged as the most important categories for keeping goats in the opinion of all farmers (70%). The amount of milk sold per year was the lowest important category in all villages under study (6%).

Management procedures under different villages in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt

Data recorded from this study showed that the common management systems in all villages were tethering (54%). Most of farmers indicated that crop farming and livestock keeping as the main traditional system in their livelihoods (83%), while the majority of the households (67%) recorded suckling as the higher activity of kid-rearing system (Table  5 ). Only 50% and 14% regarded supplementation and identification systems, respectively. Performance recording activities were also reported. It was noted from the farmers’ questionnaire that performance recording was not taken into consideration. Only 40% and 2% had access to veterinary and extension services, respectively. Their rate of interest in market access was low (17%).

Reasons for keeping goats in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt

Table  6 shows the percentages for the various reasons for keeping Baladi goats. The percentage was highest for cash and recorded 89% for all villages. Use of goats for social roles values such as dowry for marriage and gifts was the second with percentage (40%) followed by values of raise to sell as needed (29%) and exchange for cows (25%). A few farmers in the study area considered goat meat production to basic needs as important (11%). Only a few farmers kept goats for manure (4%), skins (8%), and milk (5%).

The majority of farmers (91%) believed that lack of access to improved animals is the major constraint identified, while the majority of the farmers agreed that lack of extension services and disease control (81%) are among their top three constraints. On the contrary, only 29% of the farmers cannot meet the veterinarian, Table  7 and Fig.  2 .

Importance of goat diseases in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt

The theft of goats is an important challenge for most farmers in the different villages under study, especially in the villages of Sakyet Abu Sha’ra (Fig.  2 ).

Factors considered when determining the price to sell animals

In this study, diseases were one of the major challenges faced by farmers that have negative effects on the productivity of goats in the area under study. Parasites (both internal and external) and pneumonia emerged as important disease categories, but internal parasites were accorded high importance by all farmers (31%). When we asked farmers about the most important diseases affecting goats, some of farmers said that internal parasites are the most deadly disease in the newly born kids. External parasites also came in the second class (30%). The farmers considered pneumonia (25%) to be highly important, whereas the farmers rated it second last, behind parasites diseases. Nutrition were rated lowest (14%) of the four categories by all farmers (Table  8 and Fig.  4 ).

By comparing farmers in the villages surveyed, we observed that the external parasites are an important disease for most farmers in the village of Sakyet Abu Sha’ra, (Fig.  3 ).

Marketing goat in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt

Butchers and traders are responsible for the marketing of goats in the different villages under study. Many farmers said they were selling their animals to traders who re-sold them in the trading markets that belong to Ashmoun town or other towns, sold them to butchers who owned small roadside butcher shops in towns or trading centers, and sold them to fellow farmers and other people in the neighborhood who purchased them for home consumption or to raise them. The price was subjectively based on the size and appearance of the animal, and it was settled after haggling with the buyer (Fig.  4 ).

Factors considered important in selling goats

Availability of buyers, consumer, sale price in market, and price spread in village were the factors farmers considered important when selling livestock (Fig.  5 ). The results showed that goats are the most common livestock of the rural farmers of the area of study (Fig.  1 ).

Baladi goats outside their night housing at some villages under study

General discussion

The purpose of the present study was to provide a preferable understanding of goat production systems in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt, by taking Menoufia as an example. This agrees with some findings of Laouadi et al. ( 2018 ) that reported that most of the respondents were married (86.8%) in Laghouat area, Algeria. Most heads of households were male; only 12% of respondents were female. This disagrees with some findings that women constitute the majority of agricultural force in Nigeria (Pala 1980 and dachaba 1980 ). It however agrees with the findings of Iyiola-Tunji and Issa ( 2010 ) that reported low participation of female in adopted villages (AV) and non-adopted villages (NAV) in Nigeria. Adult women play the most important role in goat husbandry, although most of them declare that it is an adult’s men responsibility. This agree with some findings of Kunene and Fossey ( 2006 ) of Northern Kwazulu Natal in South Africa. The fact that livestock production activities are still carried out by able-bodied farmers is supported in this study. The low literacy level in the study area consider strength in enhancing goat breeding strategies because scientifically qualified communities are more likely to adopt and practice new technologies, which may enhance the rural development. Most of the participants from the village of Sakyet Abu Sha’ra farm work in the field of hand-made carpets, where their factories are in their houses, therefore they do not leave the village for any reason, which may lead to an increase their attention to buy land compared to other villages.

Importance of livestock to farmers in rural areas of the Nile delta in Egypt

The combination of livestock owned in these rural areas was similar to other investigations conducted in other rural areas of southern Africa; Swaziland (Sibisi 1979 ) and Transkei (Bembridge 1984 ).

Productive and reproductive traits of Baladi goats in rural areas of the Nile delta in Egypt

The observations by farmers showed that the first kids at the age of 10 months corroborate earlier findings elsewhere in Zimbabwe (Kusina and Kusina 2002 ). Findings from this study are in contrast with that of Kusina and Kusina ( 2002 ). They reported higher survivability of pre-weaning kids. This might be partly attributed to the very low pre-weaning kid mortality. Also, these results agree with several research findings in Zimbabwe and other southern African countries where pre-weaning kid mortality has been reported to vary from 20 to 65% (CARD 1992 ; Kusina et al. 1999 ). Also, Abd-Allah et al. ( 2015 ) recorded that the pre-weaning kids had the highest mortality rate compared to other ages.

Importance of production categories of Baladi goats in rural areas of the Nile delta in Egypt

Generally speaking, majority of farmers agrees that goat milk is not sold; however, there are a few proportions of women who reported that goat milk may be used in their babies suckling but men are not aware of it. Goats were reported to be used for similar functions (consumption, sale and cultural use).

Management procedures under different villages in rural areas of the Nile delta in Egypt

From the above, the traditional system can be characterized as mixed crop and livestock production systems and this is the common system in most rural areas in the Delta governorates. This is a common practice to stop goats from straying into crop gardens to destroy crops, in places where land is limited and there is mixed crop and livestock production systems. Meanwhile, the management systems observed in this survey are similar to the systems practised by other smallholder farmers in crop-livestock farming systems in a semi-arid smallholder farming area situated in the north of Zimbabwe Kusina and Kusina ( 2002 ). The study also found that most of the farmers in the villages surveyed did not give positive indicators of access rates for extension and veterinary services.

Reasons for keeping goats in rural areas of the Nile delta in Egypt

The percentages for the various reasons for keeping Baladi goats was highest for cash and followed by the use of goats for social roles values and exchange for cows. These results was supported by those of Moorosi ( 1999 ) who reported that livestock is the major source of income for South African small-scale farmers. Also, he reported that 79% of the farmers sold their goats when there was a need for cash like school fees. To understand why farmers would prefer goats on the other animals, we asked farmers what their reasons were for keeping goats. For the purpose of this study, income was defined as money for basic needs, which means that the farmers need the money from the sale of their animals, for example, to help buy electrical equipment to prepare their daughters for a marriage or to meet an urgent and basic need such as preparing a family member for marriage or immediate payment of school fees.

Also, Muslims slaughter their goats during the Eid al-Adha season as offerings to God. These results seem to suggest that upgraded local goats are reared mostly for the money and are also important for other uses. The characteristic common to local goats which the farmers appreciated was that they were easy to raise, requiring few inputs. Most of the goats reared were Baladi. The local goats are known to be well suited in rural areas for poor households as they are stable on production even with minimal inputs. Generally, rural farmers do not sell their goats at maturity; they raise them to sell when they have a serious financial need. Farmers in the study area do not regularly slaughter their goats for food. When we asked them what is the most important animal food source, the most common responses were milk of buffalo and cow, eggs, and fish.

Constraints for goat farmers in rural areas of the Nile delta in Egypt

By asking farmers about genetic improvement techniques and their applicability to their animals, such as artificial insemination and crossbreeding with improved breeds, some of the farmers answered that they have no idea what they are hearing but are willing to adopt such techniques if possible. On the other hand, some of the farmers have indicated that they are looking to get the improved goats, especially the Boer goats, because of its good reputation. The farmers also need to be taught new breeding strategies in order to be able to deal with improved breeds of goats in case government organizations take account the development of this vital sector. Participating farmers reported that there was no encouragement from government organizations to rear high-producing improved breeds which often require more inputs.

Most of the interviewed farmers responded that they got information on the best medical cares for goats, feeding, diseases, preventive care, and general information from the veterinarian. In general, the farmers interviewed provided a smaller variation in the benefits of their meetings with the veterinarian, which is logical since they have more experience and prefer traditional treatment for their sick animals. Most of the rural farmers periodically experience loss of their goats because of factors like disease and theft. Probably that is why Baladi goats are common in rural areas. Goats are somewhat like pets in rural Egypt; they sometimes ride in public transportation busses or trains and are welcomed in the owner’s houses. The theft of goats is an important challenge for most farmers in the different villages under study, especially in the villages of Sakyet Abu Sha’ra and Kafr El Hema. Some farmers mentioned that theft of goats increases during the winter season and that the livestock thieves cross the eastern side of Damietta branch of the Nile river by sailboats. Most farmers also pointed out that there is no role for the police stations or police units deployed in the villages in retrieving these animals or even eliminating this phenomenon. The problems associated with raising goats without a fencing structure may be due to the poverty of farmers who cannot afford fencing to shun them or maybe due to their lower ownership from goats, just one or two head per farmer (62% of the farmers own three goats or fewer). It was reported that goats cause problems when left to roam around, especially in the winter seasons because of mud. Some of the tethered goats break loose, take off the stake, and cut the rope, especially if it is made from plant fiber and thus destroys crops. The rooting is also a problem as they can uproot crops, destroy the farmer’s house, especially the mud and wattle houses, Fig. 6 . Similar practices have been reported elsewhere in Africa, for example, in Tanzania (Kakengi et al. 2000 ) and Nigeria (Ogebe et al. 2000 ).

Importance of goat diseases in rural areas of the Nile delta in Egypt

The major diseases in this area are internal and external parasites. This agrees with some reports which benefit that major diseases were internal and external parasites and foot and mouth disease (Waiswa et al. 2006 ; Kasambula et al. 2012 ). Although the questions covered goats specially, the categories of disease are all applicable to other ruminants, and all farmers agreed independently upon four diseases of goats as the most important. Therefore, the results of other diseases of goats mentioned by a minority of farmers are not presented. We asked them about the source of drugs which they use; they replied that they go to some animal health technicians to diagnose and give the necessary treatment, while some of them said that they prefer to go to the veterinary unit with their sick animals to be treated by a veterinarian, but most of them preferred the first choice.

Marketing goat in rural areas of the Nile delta in Egypt

Usually, farmers sell their livestock because of an urgent financial need; therefore, they are prone to exploitation by buyers and often get low prices for their animals (Dolan 2005 ; Turner 2005 ). Other problems are that buyers are not available at some time when farmers need to sell their animals. It was easier to sell a few animals; it was a problem to find buyers who would buy in bulk. Goats are not sold through any formal market channel and goat meat is not found in any butchery or shelves of the villages’ supermarkets.

This survey has proved the need to describe each traditional rural production system prior to any intervention, as the general comprehension that these production systems are similar is incorrect. Also, special attention should be paid to small ruminants, especially goats. As such, the traditional production system along with feed shortage requires the improvement of husbandry practices. Whereas and despite all constraints and challenges currently facing the goat production system, there are still encouraging opportunities and potentials to boost production of the goat. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the improvement of goats’ husbandry in rural areas requires adequate understandings of the production systems and its operation. Reflecting this on the level of food security in rural areas of The Nile Delta in Egypt.

Abbreviations

Agricultural Research Center

Agricultural Research and Development Council

Arab Republic of Egypt

Adopted villages

Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics

Co-ordinated agricultural research development

Non-adopted villages

Statistical Package for Social Sciences

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the participants (farmers, herders, butchers in addition to veterinary technicians, and agricultural extension workers) in the study area to help us and willingness to participate in this study.

Some authors were responsible for funding this research. While most of the costs were covered by the first author.

Availability of data and materials

The data were obtained directly from the participants in addition to the secondary data obtained by the communication with Employees of General Directorate of Agriculture of Menoufia (GDA), the Directorate of Veterinary Medicine of Menoufia (DVM), and Ashmoun City Council of Menoufia (ACC). The data were obtained directly from the participants in addition to the secondary data obtained by the communication with Employees of General Directorate of Agriculture of Menoufia (GDA), the Directorate of Veterinary Medicine of Menoufia (DVM) and Ashmoun City Council of Menoufia (ACC) on the basis of a letter from the Vice President National Research Centre for Research and International Relations to the competent authorities to facilitate the task of the first author.

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S. Abd-Allah, M. I. Mohamed, M. M. Shoukry, Fatma M. Salman & H. H. Abd- El Rahman

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A-AS. performed the survey study and wrote the manuscript. MIM designed the manuscript. MMS and FMS reviewed the manuscript. HHA-ER participated in design the questionnaire form. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Abd-Allah, S., Mohamed, M.I., Shoukry, M.M. et al. Assessment of the traditional goat production systems in rural areas of the Nile Delta in Egypt. Bull Natl Res Cent 43 , 114 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42269-019-0153-3

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Phiri, Donald Mwelwa. "The effect of leguminous browse supplementation on maize husk utilization by goats indigenous to the eastern province of Zambia /." Thesis, McGill University, 1991. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=60531.

Leite, Rafael Fernandes [UNESP]. "Feed digestion of growing Saanen goats." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/124101.

Leite, Rafael Fernandes. "Feed digestion of growing Saanen goats /." Jaboticabal, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/124101.

Gomes, Hilton de Souza. "Phenolic profile of shrub live oak and its relation to goat diets in central Arizona." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/184968.

Sanon, Hadja Oumou. "The importance of some Sahelian browse species as feed for goats /." Uppsala : Dept. of Animal Nutrition and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2007. http://epsilon.slu.se/200784.pdf.

Visagie, Willem. "The digestibility and degradability of feeds and protein sources in Dohne merino sheep and boer goats." Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/5303.

Tapiwa, Chikwanda Allen. "Effects of grazing and housing management systems on greenhouse gas emissions, blood profiles and meat quality of Nguni goats." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2314.

Milne, Tracey Anne. "The effects of thicket transformation on the diet and body condition of Angora goats." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/700.

Oji, Michael Isaiah. "Herbage productivity and goat performance from legume-seeded pasture (fodder banks) managed by small-scale farmers in Nigeria." Thesis, McGill University, 1994. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=68235.

Bakare, Archibold Garikayi. "Feeding behaviour of Xhosa lop-eared, Nguni and Nguni x Boer goat genotypes kept on rangelands of the false thornveld." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/396.

Ajibola, Abdulwahid. "The effect of water deprivation and atropine administration on gastro-intestinal function in goats." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/23385.

Smit, Hendrik Petrus Jordaan. "The effect of a natural feed additive, fenugreek, on feed digestibility and milk response in dairy goats." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/96003.

Nguyen, Thi Mui. "Feeding systems for goats based on foliages and whole sugar cane /." Uppsala, Sweden : Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2001. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=009768566&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.

Lourençon, Raquel Vasconcelos [UNESP]. "Parâmetros ruminais e produtivos de cabras alimentadas com raspa de mandioca em substituição ao milho." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/126639.

Lourençon, Raquel Vasconcelos 1981. "Parâmetros ruminais e produtivos de cabras alimentadas com raspa de mandioca em substituição ao milho /." Botucatu, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/126639.

Ngambu, Simthembile. "Effects of Acacia karroo supplementation on the quality of meat from Xhosa lopeared goats." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/450.

Xazela, Nomasonto Martha. "Effects of dietary supplementation on physico-chemical and consumer sensory characteristics of chevon from South African indigenous goat genotypes." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/357.

Pastor, López Francisco Javier [UNESP]. "Abacate (Persea americana Mill.) na alimentação de cabras: produção, composição e perfil de ácidos graxos no leite e parâmetros ruminais." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/126640.

Pastor, López Francisco Javier 1975. "Abacate (Persea americana Mill.) na alimentação de cabras: produção, composição e perfil de ácidos graxos no leite e parâmetros ruminais /." Botucatu, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/126640.

Souza, Pedro Paulo Sobolow de [UNESP]. "Efeitos do sistema de alimentação e grupo racial no desempenho, características de carcaça e qualidade da carne de cabritos confinados." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/105100.

Souza, Pedro Paulo Sobolow de 1956. "Efeitos do sistema de alimentação e grupo racial no desempenho, características de carcaça e qualidade da carne de cabritos confinados /." Botucatu : [s.n.], 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/105100.

Lechmere-Oertel, Richard Geoffrey. "The effects of goat browsing on ecosystem patterns and processes in succulent thicket, South Africa." Thesis, University of Port Elizabeth, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/309.

Van, der Merwe Daniel Andre. "Developing a model for feedlot production of Boer goat slaughter kids." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97903.

Dibbern, Lucas Schimidt [UNESP]. "Perfil de ácidos graxos e análise sensorial de carne e iogurte de leite de caprinos alimentados com óleos vegetais." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/113924.

Dibbern, Lucas Schimidt. "Perfil de ácidos graxos e análise sensorial de carne e iogurte de leite de caprinos alimentados com óleos vegetais /." Botucatu, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/113924.

Brown, David Adekunle. "Evaluation of mixtures of acacia karroo leaf meal and setaria verticillata grass hay for indigenous Pedi goat production." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/1579.

Mui, Nguyen Thi. "Feeding systems for goats based on foliages and whole sugar cane /." Uppsala : Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences (Sveriges lantbruksuniv.), 2001. http://epsilon.slu.se/avh/2001/91-576-5825-0.pdf.

Moela, Abram Kahlodi. "Assessment of the relationship between body weight and body measurement in indigenous goats using path analysis." Thesis, University of Limpopo, Turfloop Campus, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/1112.

Lee, Cheuk-hung, and 李卓雄. "Microbial contamination of enteral feeds." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2004. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31245596.

Chavez, Stephen John. "Feeding behaviors and performance measurements in bucks, rams, and bulls." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 2008. https://eidr.wvu.edu/etd/documentdata.eTD?documentid=5716.

Beattie, Tara Kate. "Microbial contamination of enteral tube feeds and feeding systems." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.417337.

Browman, Howard I. "Feeding behaviour in fry of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L." Thesis, McGill University, 1985. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=63129.

Van, Niekerk S. J. (Sarel Johannes). "Actual and predicted performance of broiler chickens." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/49817.

Thomson, Douglas Edward. "Determination of the effects of fish size and feed pellet size on the settling characteristics of Rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) culture cleaning wastes." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/26649.

Fontana, Eddy Alejandro. "Effects of various male feeding regimens on reproduction in broiler breeders." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/43750.

A study was conducted using commercial broiler breeders with the males fed a diet containing, either 120/0 or 140/0 protein and body weight maintained at either 900/0 or 1000/0 of that recommended by the primary breeder (fed separately), or allowed to eat from the female feeders (controls). Female feeders in the separately fed pens were equipped with especially designed grills, which denied access to the males. The male feeder in these pens was elevated so that females were denied access.

Males fed separately (body weight 90% or 1000/0, and dietary protein 120/0 or 140/0) had a significantly higher percentage fertility (4.20/0) than males allowed to eat with the females. No differences in percentage fertility were found among the four separately fed groups. No differences were noted in percentage hatch of fertile eggs among any of the treatment groups.

Males eating from the female feeders had significantly heavier body weights and testes weights at 65 weeks of age than breeder males in the separately fed, groups. Mean body weights were 3819g and 4773g at 35 weeks of age, and 4192g and 5443g at 65 weeks of age for males eating separately and eating with the females, respectively. Furthermore, males in the control group had significantly larger breast angle measurements when compared with the separately fed males. No differences were observed in foot scores and semen concentration among males in the various treatment groups.

Crots, Frans (Francois Engelbertus). "The effect of feed processing techniques on weanling piglet performance." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53106.

Lehmann, Maryna. "Replacing maize with barley in concetrates fed to jersey cows grazing on kikuyu/ryegrass pasture." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/181.

Atkinson, Michael J. "A comparative study of feeding behavior in ambystoma." Virtual Press, 1985. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/438082.

Torres-Acosta, Juan Felipe de Jesus. "Supplementary feeding and the control of gastrointestinal nematodes of goats in Yucatan, Mexico." Thesis, Royal Veterinary College (University of London), 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.312983.

De, Silva Lekamwasam L. S. S. K. "Poultry feeds prepared from fermented prawn waste silage." Thesis, Loughborough University, 1998. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/28068.

Francis, Tamson L. "The effects of differences in feeding regime and of export simulations on the growth of the abalone Haliotis midae Linnaeus." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2008. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_3633_1258099775.

Beach-cast kelp (the most widely used feed for commercially grown South African abalone) is plentiful during winter months when periodic storms cause kelp to wash ashore. During summer, however, this resource is not always readily available and farmed abalone are often starved for short periods. The aim of this research was to assess how periodic kelp starvation influences growth of the commercially grown abalone, Haliotis midae Linnaeus.

Issak, Ibrahim Haji. "Evaluation of dairy cattle rearing practices and feeding management strategies in selected commercial dairy farms in Nakuru district, Kenya." Thesis, Available from the University of Aberdeen Library and Historic Collections Digital Resources, 2008. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?application=DIGITOOL-3&owner=resourcediscovery&custom_att_2=simple_viewer&pid=25503.

Babane, Siviwe Elvis. "Towards understanding the effect of size variation on the aggressive and feeding behaviours ofjuvenile dusky kob Argyrosomus japonicus (Pisces: Sciaenidae)." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59592.

Gregory, Robert S. "Foraging behaviour and perceived predation risk of juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in turbid waters." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/30976.

Emmerson, Derek Alan. "The effect of protein and energy self-selection on the reproductive performance of turkey hens." Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/53166.

SADIK, HAITHAM LOTFY. "EFFECTS OF LYSINE, TOTAL SULFUR AMINO ACIDS, AND TALLOW ON LAYING HEN PERFORMANCES." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/183845.

Lumbuenamo, Sita Ntula. "Effects of age and diet on exocrine pancreas function and fat digestibility in poultry." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/184810.

Aucamp, Barend Bernadus. "Byvoeding van skape op aangeplante weiding in 'n mediterreense klimaat." Thesis, Port Elizabeth Technikon, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/44.

Wong, Ka-hei, and 黃家禧. "Novel function of spexin as a satiety factor in feeding control." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/207994.

梁詠蓮 and Wing-lin Winny Leung. "Feeding behavior and serotonin metabolism in diet-induced obese rats." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2000. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31241980.

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Thesis Title: Examples and Suggestions from a PhD Grad

When you’re faced with writing up a thesis, choosing a title can often fall to the bottom of the priority list. After all, it’s only a few words. How hard can it be?!

In the grand scheme of things I agree that picking your thesis title shouldn’t warrant that much thought, however my own choice is one of the few regrets I have from my PhD . I therefore think there is value in spending some time considering the options available.

In this post I’ll guide you through how to write your own thesis title and share real-world examples. Although my focus is on the PhD thesis, I’ve also included plenty of thesis title examples for bachelor’s and master’s research projects too.

Hopefully by the end of the post you’ll feel ready to start crafting your own!

Why your thesis title is at least somewhat important

It sounds obvious but your thesis title is the first, and often only, interaction people will have with your thesis. For instance, hiring managers for jobs that you may wish to apply for in the future. Therefore you want to give a good sense of what your research involved from the title.

Many people will list the title of their thesis on their CV, at least for a while after graduating. All of the example titles I’ve shared below came from my repository of academic CVs . I’d say roughly 30% of all the academics on that page list their thesis title, which includes academics all the way up to full professor.

Your thesis title could therefore feature on your CV for your whole career, so it is probably worth a bit of thought!

My suggestions for choosing a good thesis title

• Make it descriptive of the research so it’s immediately obvious what it is about! Most universities will publish student theses online ( here’s mine! ) and they’re indexed so can be found via Google Scholar etc. Therefore give your thesis a descriptive title so that interested researchers can find it in the future.
• Don’t get lost in the detail . You want a descriptive title but avoid overly lengthy descriptions of experiments. Unless a certain analytical technique etc was central to your research, I’d suggest by default* to avoid having it in your title. Including certain techniques will make your title, and therefore research, look overly dated, which isn’t ideal for potential job applications after you graduate.
• The title should tie together the chapters of your thesis. A well-phrased title can do a good job of summarising the overall story of your thesis. Think about each of your research chapters and ensure that the title makes sense for each of them.
• Be strategic . Certain parts of your work you want to emphasise? Consider making them more prominent in your title. For instance, if you know you want to pivot to a slightly different research area or career path after your PhD, there may be alternative phrasings which describe your work just as well but could be better understood by those in the field you’re moving into. I utilised this a bit in my own title which we’ll come onto shortly.
• Do your own thing. Having just laid out some suggestions, do make sure you’re personally happy with the title. You get a lot of freedom to choose your title, so use it however you fancy. For example, I’ve known people to use puns in their title, so if that’s what you’re into don’t feel overly constrained.

*This doesn’t always hold true and certainly don’t take my advice if 1) listing something in your title could be a strategic move 2) you love the technique so much that you’re desperate to include it!

Thesis title examples

To help give you some ideas, here are some example thesis titles from Bachelors, Masters and PhD graduates. These all came from the academic CVs listed in my repository here .

Bachelor’s thesis title examples

Hysteresis and Avalanches Paul Jager , 2014 – Medical Imaging – DKFZ Head of ML Research Group –  direct link to Paul’s machine learning academic CV

The bioenergetics of a marine ciliate, Mesodinium rubrum Holly Moeller , 2008 – Ecology & Marine Biology – UC Santa Barbara Assistant Professor –  direct link to Holly’s marine biology academic CV

Functional syntactic analysis of prepositional and causal constructions for a grammatical parser of Russian Ekaterina Kochmar , 2008 – Computer Science – University of Bath Lecturer Assistant Prof –  direct link to Ekaterina’s computer science academic CV

Master’s thesis title examples

Creation of an autonomous impulse response measurement system for rooms and transducers with different methods Guy-Bart Stan , 2000 – Bioengineering – Imperial Professor –  direct link to Guy-Bart’s bioengineering academic CV

Segmentation of Nerve Bundles and Ganglia in Spine MRI using Particle Filters Adrian Vasile Dalca , 2012 – Machine Learning for healthcare – Harvard Assistant Professor & MIT Research Scientist –  direct link to Adrian’s machine learning academic CV

The detection of oil under ice by remote mode conversion of ultrasound Eric Yeatman , 1986 – Electronics – Imperial Professor and Head of Department –  direct link to Eric’s electronics academic CV

Ensemble-Based Learning for Morphological Analysis of German Ekaterina Kochmar , 2010 – Computer Science – University of Bath Lecturer Assistant Prof –  direct link to Ekaterina’s computer science academic CV

VARiD: A Variation Detection Framework for Color-Space and Letter-Space Platforms Adrian Vasile Dalca , 2010 – Machine Learning for healthcare – Harvard Assistant Professor & MIT Research Scientist –  direct link to Adrian’s machine learning academic CV

Identification of a Writer’s Native Language by Error Analysis Ekaterina Kochmar , 2011 – Computer Science – University of Bath Lecturer Assistant Prof –  direct link to Ekaterina’s computer science academic CV

On the economic optimality of marine reserves when fishing damages habitat Holly Moeller , 2010 – Ecology & Marine Biology – UC Santa Barbara Assistant Professor –  direct link to Holly’s marine biology academic CV

Sensitivity Studies for the Time-Dependent CP Violation Measurement in B 0 → K S K S K S at the Belle II-Experiment Paul Jager , 2016 – Medical Imaging – DKFZ Head of ML Research Group –  direct link to Paul’s machine learning academic CV

PhD thesis title examples

Spatio-temporal analysis of three-dimensional real-time ultrasound for quantification of ventricular function Esla Angelini  – Medicine – Imperial Senior Data Scientist –  direct link to Elsa’s medicine academic CV

The role and maintenance of diversity in a multi-partner mutualism: Trees and Ectomycorrhizal Fungi Holly Moeller , 2015 – Ecology & Marine Biology – UC Santa Barbara Assistant Professor –  direct link to Holly’s marine biology academic CV

Bayesian Gaussian processes for sequential prediction, optimisation and quadrature Michael Osborne , 2010 – Machine Learning – Oxford Full Professor –  direct link to Michael’s machine learning academic CV

Global analysis and synthesis of oscillations: a dissipativity approach Guy-Bart Stan , 2005 – Bioengineering – Imperial Professor –  direct link to Guy-Bart’s bioengineering academic CV

Coarse-grained modelling of DNA and DNA self-assembly Thomas Ouldridge , 2011– Bioengineering – Imperial College London Senior Lecturer / Associate Prof –  direct link to Thomas’ bioengineering academic CV

4D tomographic image reconstruction and parametric maps estimation: a model-based strategy for algorithm design using Bayesian inference in Probabilistic Graphical Models (PGM) Michele Scipioni , 2018– Biomedical Engineer – Harvard Postdoctoral Research Fellow –  direct link to Michele’s biomedical engineer academic CV

Error Detection in Content Word Combinations Ekaterina Kochmar , 2016 – Computer Science – University of Bath Lecturer Assistant Prof –  direct link to Ekaterina’s computer science academic CV

Genetic, Clinical and Population Priors for Brain Images Adrian Vasile Dalca , 2016 – Machine Learning for healthcare – Harvard Assistant Professor & MIT Research Scientist –  direct link to Adrian’s machine learning academic CV

Challenges and Opportunities of End-to-End Learning in Medical Image Classification Paul Jager , 2020 – Medical Imaging – DKFZ Head of ML Research Group –  direct link to Paul’s machine learning academic CV

K 2 NiF 4  materials as cathodes for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells Ainara Aguadero , 2006 – Materials Science – Imperial Reader –  direct link to Ainara’s materials science academic CV

Applications of surface plasmons – microscopy and spatial light modulation Eric Yeatman , 1989 – Electronics – Imperial Professor and Head of Department –  direct link to Eric’s electronics academic CV

Geometric Algorithms for Objects in Motion Sorelle Friedler , 2010 – Computer science – Haverford College Associate Professor –  direct link to Sorelle’s computer science academic CV .

Geometrical models, constraints design, information extraction for pathological and healthy medical image Esla Angelini  – Medicine – Imperial Senior Data Scientist –  direct link to Elsa’s medicine academic CV

Why I regret my own choice of PhD thesis title

I should say from the outset that I assembled my thesis in quite a short space of time compared to most people. So I didn’t really spend particularly long on any one section, including the title.

However, my main supervisor even spelled out for me that once the title was submitted to the university it would be permanent. In other words: think wisely about your title.

What I started with

Initially I drafted the title as something like: Three dimensional correlative imaging for cartilage regeneration . Which I thought was nice, catchy and descriptive.

I decided to go for “correlative imaging” because, not only did it describe the experiments well, but it also sounded kind of technical and fitting of a potential pivot into AI. I’m pleased with that bit of the title.

What I ended up with

Before submitting the title to the university (required ahead of the viva), I asked my supervisors for their thoughts.

One of my well intentioned supervisors suggested that, given that my project didn’t involve verifying regenerative quality, I probably shouldn’t state cartilage regeneration . Instead, they suggested, I should state what I was experimenting on (the materials) rather than the overall goal of the research (aid cartilage regeneration efforts).

With this advice I dialled back my choice of wording and the thesis title I went with was:

Three dimensional correlative imaging for measurement of strain in cartilage and cartilage replacement materials

Reading it back now I’m reminder about how less I like it than my initial idea!

I put up basically no resistance to the supervisor’s choice, even though the title sounds so much more boring in my opinion. I just didn’t think much of it at the time. Furthermore, most of my PhD was actually in a technique which is four dimensional (looking at a series of 3D scans over time, hence 4D) which would have sounded way more sciency and fitting of a PhD.

What I wish I’d gone with

If I had the choice again, I’d have gone with:

Four-dimensional correlative imaging for cartilage regeneration

Which, would you believe it, is exactly what it states on my CV…

Does the thesis title really matter?

In all honesty, your choice of thesis title isn’t that important. If you come to regret it, as I do, it’s not the end of the world. There are much more important things in life to worry about.

If you decide at a later stage that you don’t like it you can always describe it in a way that you prefer. For instance, in my CV I describe my PhD as I’d have liked the title to be. I make no claim that it’s actually the title so consider it a bit of creative license.

Given that as your career progresses you may not even refer back to your thesis much, it’s really not worth stressing over. However, if you’re yet to finalise your thesis title I do still think it is worth a bit of thought and hopefully this article has provided some insights into how to choose a good thesis title.

My advice for developing a thesis title

• Draft the title early. Drafting it early can help give clarity for the overall message of your research. For instance, while you’re assembling the rest of your thesis you can check that the title encompasses the research chapters you’re included, and likewise that the research experiments you’re including fall within what the title describes. Drafting it early also gives more time you to think it over. As with everything: having a first draft is really important to iterate on.
• Look at some example titles . Such as those featured above!
• If you’re not sure about your title, ask a few other people what they think . But remember that you have the final say!

I hope this post has been useful for those of you are finalising your thesis and need to decide on a thesis title. If you’ve enjoyed this article and would like to hear about future content (and gain access to my free resource library!) you can subscribe for free here:

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Caitlin Clark can put GOAT discussion to rest in NCAA title game against South Carolina

Regardless of the sum of individuals’ goat equations, there’s no denying clark is, at the very least, among the greatest with or without a national title. sunday, though, she’ll have an opportunity to give the naysayers one less thing to argue against her..

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, leftm and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark laugh during a news conference announcing the AP NCAA Women’s Coach and Player of the Year Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Carolyn Kaster/AP

Discussions about the greatest player of all time are subjective.

Statistics, personal accolades and winning are, of course, fact-based, but the importance a person puts on each when establishing their argument varies.

For some, 50% of their reasoning might go to how many titles a player has, 25% to stats and the other 25% to personal accolades. Others will throw their entire crusade behind a player’s individual accomplishments and records. Common elements in every argument include a player’s supporting cast, coach and any roadblocks that might have threatened their success.

With 40 minutes separating Iowa star Caitlin Clark from her WNBA career, it’s time to lay to rest whether she is the GOAT of the women’s college game.

Clark could go a long way toward silencing all discussions on the matter in the NCAA women’s title game Sunday against South Carolina.

All she needs is a win.

‘‘Ya, she does,’’ former UConn star Breanna Stewart said with a half-smile when she was asked whether Clark needs a championship to be in the GOAT discussion. ‘‘You’re going to look 10 years back and see all the records she’s broken and stuff like that. But anybody knows your goal when you play college basketball is to win a national championship."

It’s a fair point. Coming from Stewart, who won four titles during her four years at UConn, it actually means something, too, compared to the average troll on social media.

But Stewart’s four titles also point to a flaw in her argument. That flaw is that the GOAT’s supporting cast matters.

Stewart was one of eight future WNBA players on the four UConn rosters she was a part of from 2012 to 2016. In Clark’s four years with the Hawkeyes, her supporting cast she has played with pales by comparison.

Last season, when Clark led Iowa past undefeated South Carolina in the national semifinals and into the NCAA title game for the first time in program history, she did it without a single WNBA-caliber player alongside her.

One could argue — and many have — that makes her even more worthy of GOAT status.

During her time with the Hawkeyes, Clark has led them to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, three Big Ten titles and one conference regular-season title. Individually, her accolades read like a laundry list of achievements.

This season, she has averaged a nation-leading 31.7 points to go with nine assists. Her name is all over the college record books, from becoming the NCAA’s all-time Division I scoring leader — men or women — to becoming the only D1 women’s player to score more than 1,000 points in consecutive seasons.

Last week, she became the first player since Stewart to win back-to-back Naismith Player of the Year awards. Stewart won the award three seasons in a row (2014-16).

Off the court, Clark has helped the women’s game break even more records. All season, Iowa played in front of sold-out crowds and set new broadcasting marks.

On Friday, 14.2 million people tuned in for the Hawkeyes’ 71-69 victory against UConn. It was ESPN's highest audience for any basketball game on record. The previous record for the most-watched women’s college basketball game was set Monday when 12.3 million viewers tuned in to watch Iowa beat LSU in the Elite Eight.

Regardless of the GOAT equations, there’s no denying Clark is, at the very least, among the greatest players with or without a national title. On Sunday, however, she’ll have an opportunity to give the naysayers one fewer thing to use as an argument against her.

All it’ll take is the greatest performance of her already-heroic career in her last dance on the college stage — and even that might not be enough to steal a title from undefeated South Carolina.

You can bet, however, that more records will be broken.

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Dawn Staley Details Why Caitlin Clark Must Win a Championship to Be the GOAT

• Author: Zach Koons

Caitlin Clark is undoubtedly the author of one of the greatest careers ever seen in the sport of college basketball, but still remains without an elusive national championship to her name. Though she may be the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, conversation has stirred this week about whether or not she truly stands alone as the best to ever play without a title.

As for South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, the leader of Clark’s opponent in the national championship, hoisting a trophy is prerequisite for becoming the GOAT.

“Yeah, I was really good in college by never won a championship. You gotta win a championship,” Staley explained in her press conference Saturday ahead of Sunday’s title game, via The Athletic ’s Nicole Auerbach , using herself as an example.

The Gamecocks’ coach echoed comments made by four-time national champion and former UConn star Breanna Stewart earlier in the week, when she stated definitively that Clark needed a title to surpass the rest of the greats to come through the women’s game.

“I agree with Stewie when it comes to winning the championship,” Staley continued. “We’re going to talk about GOATs, I think [Stewart] is the GOAT, to be able to win four national championships and to be MVP.”

"Does Caitlin Clark need a championship to be considered one of the greats in women's college basketball history?" - @NicoleAuerbach "Yeah. She does." - @breannastewart Live @WFinalFour Coverage: https://t.co/nV1komI7dD pic.twitter.com/ZkfXGfudRH — College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) April 5, 2024

Of course for Clark to finally reach the mountaintop, she’ll have to get through Staley, Kamilla Cardoso and the Gamecocks—a fact the two-time champion coach begrudgingly acknowledges.

“If Caitlin wins the championship she’s pretty damn good, yeah, like she’s a GOAT. I mean she’s really damn good regardless,” Staley said. “But winning the championship would seal the deal.

“I hope to the dear Lord she doesn’t,” she added.

Staley and South Carolina will seek to prevent Clark from reaching another level of status on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET when the national championship tips off from Cleveland.

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Dawn Staley praises Caitlin Clark after South Carolina’s national title win: ‘One of the GOATs of our game’

Fresh off her second national championship in three years , South Carolina coach Dawn Staley made sure to credit Iowa star Caitlin Clark for helping popularize women’s basketball after a season that saw Clark raise the ceiling, and then shatter it.

“I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport,” Staley said. “She carried a heavy load for our sport. It just is not going to stop here on a collegiate tour but when she is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, she’s going to lift that league up as well.

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“So Caitlin Clark, if you’re out there, you are one of the GOATs of our game. We appreciate you.”

Clark responded to the praise in a postgame news conference, saying, “Any time someone like coach Staley is able to recognize you and what you did for the game, it’s pretty special, and honestly, she’s somebody I respect so much, I respect what she’s done for South Carolina, I respect what she did as a player for our game, so any time you can get the praises of her it’s pretty special so it means a lot.”

Tacking on to her long list of accolades — which notably includes owning the highest NCAA scoring mark in men’s and women’s basketball — Clark broke the all-time NCAA Tournament scoring record in the first quarter of the national championship Sunday. In 17 career NCAA Tournament games, Clark netted 492 points. Against the Gamecocks, she scored 30 points, adding eight rebounds and five assists.

Iowa , however, fell to South Carolina 87-75, marking its second straight loss in the national title game.

Dawn Staley heaped praise on Caitlin Clark after South Carolina defeated Iowa in the women's national championship game. "Caitlin Clark, you are one of the GOATS of our game." 🎥 @MarchMadnessWBB pic.twitter.com/WAoZOKEuWW — The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 7, 2024

The wins for women’s basketball are likely to continue. The viewership mark for the national championship is highly anticipated after the Iowa-UConn Final Four matchup broke the record for the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history with 14.2 million people tuning in, peaking at 17 million. That record broke the previous record set four days earlier, when Iowa defeated LSU in the Elite Eight, which drew 12.3 million viewers and peaked at 16 million .

Ticket sales also skyrocketed, with every ticket to Iowa’s NCAA Tournament first and second rounds at Carver-Hawkeye Arena selling out in just 30 minutes.  Women’s Final Four tickets boasted, with service fees, a get-in price of around $965 .

And as far as the “greatest of all time” conversation goes, Clark has certainly put her name in the mix with other icons such as Cheryl Miller, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Chamique Holdsclaw, Maya Moore and Sue Bird. In a poll of 35 anonymous head coaches conducted by The Athletic , 10.3 percent voted Clark as the best women’s college basketball player of all time.

Is Caitlin Clark women's college basketball's G.O.A.T.? Anonymous coaches weigh in

Clark graduates from Iowa with more than 3,900 points to her name. She now turns to the WNBA , where she’s expected to hear her name called first at the draft in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 12.

Required reading

• Inside Caitlin Clark’s celebrity: Iowa teammates share stories from the frenzy
• Iowa vs. South Carolina gives us the ending we wanted and the finale this season deserves
• Stop Caitlin Clark? Good luck. Coaches share their (often failed) strategies

(Photo of Caitlin Clark: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

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Lauren Merola is a staff editor on the news/live team. Before joining The Athletic, she covered hockey and football as a staff writer for both the NHL and AthlonSports. Based in New York, Lauren is a double graduate of the University of Southern California. Follow Lauren on Twitter @ laurmerola

Even without a championship, Caitlin Clark can be one of the greatest players of all time

During Final Four weekend in Cleveland, Breanna Stewart had some pointed words about which women’s college basketball players should be considered some of the greatest of all time.

Stewart, a four-time national champion with UConn between 2012-16, told SiriusXM players, specifically Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark , need to win a title to even be considered to be on college ball's Mount Rushmore.

'She is so fun to watch.' Fever fans are ready for Caitlin Clark after college career ends

“You’re going to look 10 years back and you’re going to see all the records she’s broken and points and stuff like that, but anybody knows that your goal when you play is to win a national championship," Stewart told SiriusXM’s Nicole Auerbach.

Stewart is a legend in her own right. She was a four-time Final Four Most Outstanding Player, and she didn’t play a season at UConn that the Huskies didn’t win a title. She’s had a lucrative professional career as well, winning two WNBA championships and two MVP awards in her eight-year career

There’s an argument to be made Caitlin Clark isn’t the absolute GOAT (Greatest of All Time) without a championship, and sure, all of the proclaimed GOAT women’s basketball players — Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Sue Bird, Stewart — have won a championship.

But saying she can’t even be one of the greats in women’s college basketball — or college basketball as a whole — if she doesn’t win a title? It seems off base.

Sabrina Ionescu, the all-time triple-double leader, never won a national championship with Oregon, nor did Dawn Staley at Virginia. Kelsey Plum, the all-time leading scorer in Division I women’s basketball before Clark broke it this year, didn’t win a championship at Washington. Staley, a two-time Naismith Player of the Year, even has an award named after her, given annually to the best guard in the nation. They don’t give that out to just anybody. 

When Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks took down Iowa, 87-75, in the national championship on Sunday, the legendary coach cemented her thoughts on Clark's status as one of the best women's basketball players.

"I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport," Staley said during South Carolina's national title celebration. "She carried a heavy load for our sport, and it just is not going to stop here on the collegiate tour, but when is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, she is going to lift that league up, as well. So, Caitlin Clark, if you're out there, you are one of the GOATs of our game, and we appreciate you."

Even without a title, Clark is absolutely one of the greatest players of all time. She is a two-time unanimous national player of the year, holds the NCAA Division I all-time scoring record, and both the NCAA tournament 3-point and scoring career record, among many others.

Throughout her four years at Iowa, Clark has willed the Hawkeyes to not only compete, but win, against the blue-bloods of women’s basketball in UConn, South Carolina and Kim Mulkey’s LSU.

The Iowa women’s basketball program had been close to this position. Megan Gustafson was the 2019 Naismith Player of the Year, and she brought the Hawkeyes to the Elite Eight.

But Clark brought the Hawkeyes to a place they’ve never been. The 2022-23 season was Iowa’s first Final Four since 1993, and the program’s first national championship appearance. This season, even with two starters leaving, Clark brought them back to the exact same spot. It is the first time Iowa has seen back-to-back Final Fours, much less back-to-back championship game appearances.

Through the name, image, and likeness era, she’s grown into a household name, willing rapper Travis Scott, actor Jason Sudeikis, WNBA stars Maya Moore and Sue Bird and baseball legend Nolan Ryan to Iowa City for games. 

She and the Iowa team have been behind viewership records on seven different networks, including the most-watched women’s basketball game on record — 14.2 million people watched the Iowa-UConn Final Four game on Friday. This national championship game, aired nationally on ABC, will likely have a viewership even higher than that.

At the end of the day, Clark and Iowa ran into the brick wall that is South Carolina, and she ended her college career without a title. But she still has a legacy that will transcend the University of Iowa and college basketball as a whole.

As she moves on to the WNBA, that’s all that she wanted.

“I don't want my legacy to be, oh, ‘Caitlin won X amount of games or Caitlin scored X amount of points.’” Clark said on Saturday. “I hope it's what I was able to do for the game of women's basketball. I hope it is the young boys and young girls that are inspired to play this sport or dream to do whatever they want to do in their lives.

“I think it's just the people that we've brought together, the joy we've brought to people, the way people are recognizing women's basketball as a sport. It's fun to watch. Everybody loves it. It can be on the highest of stages.”