Prediction of total skin length in Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) using measurable skin traits

Prediction of total skin length in Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) using measurable skin traits | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Prediction of total skin length in Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) using measurable skin traits Pretty Rachuene, Khetho Ratshilumela Nemutandani, Joseph Thinawanga Mugwabana, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6810779/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Nile crocodiles are common in South Africa, reaching up to 6m in total length. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the phenotypic correlation between total skin length and other measurable skin traits, and (2) to derive a model for predicting total skin length of Nile crocodile. 180 skins were used to measure total skin length and skin traits viz skin weight (SW), skin thickness (ST), neck total length (NTL), neck width at the top (NWT), neck width at the middle (NWM), belly width (BW), belly length (BL), total tail Length (TTL), tail length from the middle (TLM), and Tail width (TLW). Data analysis was computed using Pearson’s correlation, Simple linear regression and stepwise multiple regression techniques in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 29.0. Highly positive correlations (P<0.01) were found between total skin length and SW (0.81), BL (0.79), BW (0.75), TTL (0.87), TLM (0.78), TLW (0.48), NTL (0.37), NWT (0.51) and NWM (0.60). High positive correlations (P<0.05) were found between TSL and ST (0.17). Linear regression findings showed that TTL (R 2 = 0.76) was the best trait to predict TSL. Furthermore, regression findings showed that a combination of (ST, BL, BW, TTL, TLM, TLW, NTL, NWT, NWM (R 2 = 0.90; RMSE = 14.23) was the best in predicting TSL of Nile crocodiles. The results suggest the traits, particularly TTL, can be used as a selection criterion for improving total skin length in Nile crocodiles. Model Simple linear regression phenotypic correlation selection criterion Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Introduction The Nile crocodile is one of the major crocodilians used for commercial farming, and these species are 4m long but can grow up to 6m (Rochford et al ., 2016, Isberg et al ., 2019). The species are second to the Saltwater crocodile in length and distribution (Botha, 2010). Crocodiles are essentially farmed for their skin, and the Nile crocodile skin, referred to as the “classics”, is known for its durability (Fergusson, 2010, Chala et al ., 2020). Following the establishment of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in the late 20 th century, crocodile farming has globally gained popularity (Lutz, 2022). South Africa plays a major role in Nile crocodile farming and is widely recognised as one of the leading producers (Webb et al ., 2021). Crocodile farming plays a vital role in the exotic leather industry with the skin used to manufacture fashion apparel, furniture and various luxury leather products (Wainaina et al ., 2022). Generally, crocodile leather is highly prized and widely competes in international markets (Zietsman, 2017). However, crocodile skins tend to be downgraded due to poor quality and yield (Moore et al ., 2017), as a results farmers endure significant financial losses. It is essentially critical to improve quality of raw skins as it will affect the processed leather quality (Isberg et al ., 2004).The industry’s ability to effectively market crocodile skins critically rely on comprehensive fundamental data (Chala et al ., 2020). According to Platt et al . (2009), knowledge of relationships between length measurements and morphometric traits, such as skin dimensions, may provide accurate methods of predicting the length. It has been reported that total length of crocodile is directly proportional with some of the skin quality traits, such as belly width, such that the width will increase as the length increases (Bolton, 1989; Gray et al ., 2007). Isberg et al . (2003) reported that the Saltwater crocodile would essentially have to grow longer (about 2m) in order to reach threshold belly width of about 42cm. Some studies have reported the prediction of total length of crocodiles from morphometric measurements (Webb et al ., 2012; Edwards et al ., 2017). However, based on our knowledge, the effect of measurable skin traits on total skin length of Nile crocodiles is not known. Hence, the current study’s objectives were (i) to determine the correlation between total skin length and related measurable skin traits, and (ii) to establish a model for the prediction of total skin length of Nile crocodile. Materials and methods Study site The study was conducted at Lalele crocodile farm (24°27'33.8"S 28°34'25.6"E), Modimolle-Mookgopong Municipality, Waterberg District, Limpopo Province. The farm is registered with South African National Standard Crocodiles in Captivity (SANS) since 2014 (ref: 2014/175445/07). Experimental subjects and general management at the farm A total of 180 skins from Nile crocodiles aged ±35 months, sourced from Lalele Crocodile Farm were used in this study. The crocodiles were raised under captive breeding, which involves incubating eggs until they hatch, and then nurturing the resulting offsprings until slaughter age (Dzoma et al ., 2008). Female and male crocodiles reach sexual maturity at the age of 10 years and 12 years, respectively and the female crocodile can lay up to 80 eggs per cycle. The eggs are collected, incubated and hatched using the incubator, set at controlled temperatures (28°C or 32°C). The sex of the crocodile is determined by the temperature in the incubator, with 28°C producing female offsprings and 32°C producing male offsprings. The hatchlings are initially kept in a “hot house”, whereby the temperature runs up to 32°C, and they are fed dry pellets made from fishmeal, carcass soya, and minerals. After reaching 7 months of age, the crocodiles are moved into panels consisting of a 2.5m deep pool and two small feeding pools. A single panel is stocked with about 1000 young crocodiles. To maintain a clean environment and minimize stress on new stock, the water in the ponds is drained and replaced with fresh water before bringing new juveniles into the enclosure (Louw, 2024). The wastewater is used to irrigate pasture on the farm. The crocodiles are fed dry chicken mincemeat and they are slaughtered at the age of 3 years at the Thaba Kwena Abattoir, a certified veterinary establishment approved by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD). The abattoir is authorized to export meat to the European Union and other countries. Slaughtering, skinning, and tanning were done as described by Bolton (1989), Manolis and Webb (2016) and Chala et al. (2020). Research design and sampling procedure The study used a cross-sectional study design, whereby data was collected from the experimental subjects only once. The study used a convenient sampling method, whereby the sample size and study area were determined by the availability and accessibility during the time of the study. Measurements of traits The traits measured on raw Nile crocodile skin includes Total skin length (TSL), skin weight (SW), skin thickness (ST), belly length (BL), belly width (BW), total tail length (TTL), tail length from the middle (TLM), tail width (TLW), neck total length (NTL), neck width at the top (NWT), and neck width at the middle (NWM). The measured traits are described in Table S1 and the schematic representation of the measurements is shown in Figure 1. All measurements were taken by one person to minimize individual variation. Statistical analysis Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS, 2022) software, version 29.0 was used for data analysis. Pearson’s correlation was used to determine the phenotypic relationship between total skin length and measurable skin traits. A level of significance of 5% and 1% was set. Simple linear regression and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used to establish models for predicting total skin length from measurable skin traits of the Nile crocodile. Total skin length was defined as the dependent variable, while the skin traits were the independent variables. The following linear regression formula was used: Y = a + bx + e Where: Y = Dependent variable (TSL) a = constant b = regression coefficient x = independent variable (SW, ST, BL, BW, TTL, TLM, TLM, TLW, NTL, NWT, NWM) e = error Subsequently, the following stepwise multiple regression models were fitted: Model 1 included all the independent variables measured in the study: TSL = SW + ST + BL + BW + TTL + TLM + TLW + NTL + NWT + NWM Model 2 included the only the neck, belly and tail measurements as independent variables: TSL = BL + BW + TTL + TLM + TLW + NTL + NWT + NWM Model 3 included all the width measurements as independent variables: TSL = BW + TLW + NWT + NWM Model 4 included the only the three total length measurements as independent variables: TSL = BL + TTL + NTL The best-fitted model was chosen based on the highest coefficient of determination (R 2 ) and lowest root mean square error (RMSE). Results Correlation between crocodile skin traits The correlation between skin traits of Nile crocodile is exhibited in Table 1. According to Turner and Young (1969), correlations are classified as very low (60%). A Significant (P<0.01) positive correlation was observed between TSL and all the other traits, except ST, which was significant at P<0.05. The correlation of TSL with skin thickness was low (0.17) and positive. Correlations with TSL were moderate for NTL (0.37), high for NWT (0.51) and NWM (0.60), and very high for SW (0.81), BL (0.79), BW (0.75), TTL (0.87) and TLM (0.78). Among the skin traits, NTL exhibited negative and significant (P<0.01) correlations with ST (-0.60) and TLW (-0.23). Furthermore, NTL had no significant correlation with SW (0.06), BL (-0.02), BW (0.05), NWT (-0.10) and NWM (0.04) while ST had no significant correlation with TTL (-0.07) and TLM (-0.02). Table 1 Correlation between skin traits of Nile crocodile TSL = Total skin length; SW = Skin weight; ST = Skin thickness; BL = Belly length; BW = Belly width; TTL= Total tail length; TLM = Tail length from middle (TLM); TLW = Tail width; NTL = Neck total length; NWT = Neck width at the top; NWM = Neck width at the middle; * = Correlated at P < 0.05; ** = Correlated at P < 0.01; ns = not significant Simple linear regression analysis of total skin length and skin weight The linear regression equation was established as TSL = 96.35 + 0.03SW, as shown in Figure 2, whereby TSL = total skin length, SW = skin weight, 96.35 = constant and 0.03 = regression coefficient. The findings showed that the established predictive model had a coefficient of determination (R 2 ) of 0.65 with root mean square error (RMSE) of 46.87. Furthermore, the results indicated that a 33.06cm increase in TSL, will result in an increase in skin weight by 1kg. Simple linear regression analysis of total skin length and skin thickness Figure 3 shows the established regression equation as TSL = 125.52 + 3.58ST, whereby TSL = total skin length, 125.52 = constant, 3.58 = regression coefficient, and ST = skin thickness. The model recorded R 2 of 0.03 and RMSE of 130.29. The results showed that increasing TSL by 3.58cm, ST will increase by1mm. Simple linear regression analysis of total skin length and belly length The established regression formula is depicted in Figure 4 as TSL = 35.11 +2.54BL, whereby TSL = total skin length, 35.11 = constant, 2.54 = regression coefficient, and BL = belly length. R 2 and RMSE were found to be 0.63 and 49.88, respectively. Results further showed that if BL increases by 1cm, TSL will increase by 2.54cm. Simple linear regression analysis of total skin length and belly width The prediction model was established as TSL = 57.62 + 2.57BW, as depicted in Figure 5, whereby TSL = total skin length, 57.62 = constant, 2.57 = regression coefficient, and BW = belly width. The results revealed that R 2 and RMSE of the regression equation was 0.56 and 59.36, respectively. The results further indicated that a 1cm increase in BW will result in a 2.57cm increase in TSL. Simple linear regression analysis of total skin length and total tail length Figure 6 shows the established regression equation, TSL = 34.552 + 1.56TTL, whereby TSL = total skin length, 34.552 = constant, 1.56 = regression coefficient, and TTL = total tail length. The findings showed that TTL model had a coefficient of determination of 0.76 with RMSE of 31.98, accounting for 76% in TSL variation, making it the best trait in predicting TSL. Furthermore, the regression findings showed that a unit increase in TTL will increase TSL by 1.56cm. Simple linear regression analysis of total skin length and tail length from middle Figure 7 shows the established regression equation (TSL = 45.91 + 2.02TLM), whereby TSL = total skin length, 45.91 = constant, 2.02 = regression coefficient, and TLM = tail length from middle. R 2 of 0.61 and RMSE of 52.94 were recorded for TLM model. Based on the findings, A unit increase in TLM will result in an increase of TSL by 2.02cm. Simple linear regression analysis of total skin length and tail width The established regression equation is shown in Figure 8 as TSL = 86.48 + 2.80TLW, whereby TSL = total skin length, 86.48 = constant, 2.80 = regression coefficient, and TLW = tail width. The predictive model exhibited R 2 of 0.23 with RMSE of 103.02. The results indicated that a unit increase in TLW will result in a 2.80cm increase in TSL. Simple linear regression analysis of total skin length and neck total length Figure 9 shows the established regression formula (TSL = 119.00 + 0.66NTL), whereby TSL = total skin length, 119.00 = constant, 0.66 = regression coefficient, and NTL = neck total length. The results showed that the established NTL model recorded 0.14 and 116.00 in R 2 and RMSE, respectively. Based on the results, increasing NTL by 1cm, TSL will increase by 0.66cm. Simple linear regression analysis of total skin length and neck width at top The linear regression equation was established as TSL = 88.29 + 4.22NWT (Figure 10) whereby TSL= total skin length, NWT= neck width at top, 88.29= constant and 4.22 = regression coefficient. The coefficient of determination and RMSE were recorded as 0.26 and 99.23, respectively. The results indicated that increasing NWT by 1cm, TSL will increase by 4.22cm. Simple linear regression analysis of total skin length and neck width at the middle Figure 11 shows the established regression equation (TSL = 81.42 + 4.08NWM), whereby TSL = total skin length, 81.42 = constant, 4.08 = regression coefficient, and NWM = neck width at the middle. The findings showed that the established predictive model had a coefficient of determination (R 2 ) of 0.36 with root mean square error (RMSE) of 86.43. The results showed if NWM increases by 1cm, TSL will increase by 4.08 cm. Skin traits effects on Total skin length in crocodile using stepwise multiple regression Table 2 shows the stepwise multiple regression equations for the prediction of total skin length. The results showed that model 1 (TSL = 16.35 + 4.68SW + 1.28ST + 1.03BL + 0.39BW + 0.81TTL + 0.13TLM - 0.25TLW + 0.21NTL + 0.19NWT – 0.14NWM) had the highest coefficient of determination (R 2 = 0.90) and the lowest residual mean square error (RMSE = 14.28), making it the best in predicting total skin length of Nile crocodile. The findings suggests that model 1 accounted for 90% in TSL variation. Table 2 Stepwise-multiple regression models for the prediction of total skin length from skin traits of Nile crocodile Model Equation R 2 RMSE 1 TSL = 16.35 + 4.68SW + 1.28ST + 1.03BL + 0.39BW + 0.81TTL + 0.13TLM - 0.25TLW + 0.21NTL + 0.19NWT – 0.14NWM 0.90 14.28 2 TSL = 8.92 + 1.12BL + 0.57BW + 0.84TTL + 0.15TLM + 0.003TLW + 0.15NTL + 0.16NWT – 0.03NWM 0.89 14.79 3 TSL = 53.14 + 2.12BW + 0.25TLW - 0.15NWT + 1.18NWM 0.58 57.95 4 TSL = 9.85 + 1.48BL + 1.00TTL + 0.13NTL 0.88 16.06 Decision Higher is better Lower is better SW = Skin weight; ST = Skin thickness; BL = Belly length; BW = Belly width; TTL= Total tail length; TLM = Tail length from middle (TLM); TLW = Tail width; NTL = Neck total length; NWT = Neck width at the top; NWM = Neck width at the middle R 2 = Coefficient of determination; Adj. RMSE = Root mean square error. Discussion Morphometric data is recommended in crocodilian research projects to establish predictive models that link various body measurements (Platt et al ., 2009). The first objective of the study was to determine the correlation between total skin length and other objectively measured skin traits of Nile crocodile. The findings showed that total skin length had very high positive and significant (P<0.01) correlations with skin weight, belly length, belly width, total tail length and tail length from middle. Correlations of TSL with skin thickness was low and positive at P<0.05, moderate for neck total length, and high for neck width at the top and neck width at the middle at P<0.01 (see Table 1). However, no significant correlation was recorded between total skin length and neck width at the middle. The non-significant correlations implies that a change in one trait may not affect the other. Hutton (1987) found that total length of live Nile crocodile exhibited very high positive correlations with snout-vent length (r = 0.995), belly scale (0.989), and fifth tail scale (0.996). The determination of the phenotypic correlation among morphometric traits, including that of the skin, was reported in several exotic leather producing species. This includes reports from Nemutandani (2023) which indicated that skin size exhibited low (r = 0.14) and very high (r = 0.61) positive correlations with skin thickness and skin weight, respectively, in South African ostriches. Engelbrecht (2013) also reported a very high positive correlation (r = 0.75) between skin size and raw skin weight of ostriches. Furthermore, current correlation results showed that neck total length had negative but significant correlations with skin thickness and tail width. According to Nemutandani et al . (2024), the significant negative correlations between skin traits implies that a decrease in one trait will result in increase in the other. Furthermore, neck total length exhibited non-significant correlations with skin weight, belly length, belly width, neck width at the top, neck width at the middle, while skin thickness had no significant correlation with total tail length and tail length from the middle. This is in contradiction with Nemutandani (2023), who reported moderate phenotypic correlations between neckline total length with neckline width at the top (r = 0.20) and neck width at the middle (r = 0.27) in South African Ostriches. The contradiction may be attributed to the use of varying species. All the other traits exhibited significant positive correlations with each other. Current correlation findings indicate that total skin length can be improved by selecting for belly and tail traits, which in turn result in bigger sized and heavier skins (more yield). Strong positive correlations found between morphometric traits suggests that the traits may be controlled by a similar gene (Mathapo et al ., 2022). Correlation analysis shows if and the type of relationship that exists between total skin length and skin traits, however; it does not identify traits that can be used to best predict total skin length. Hence, the current study established equations for predicting total skin length from skin traits using simple linear and stepwise-multiple regression analysis methods. The current regression results showed that when using single traits to predict total skin length, total tail length exhibited a higher coefficient of determination, making it the best predictor trait. The higher contribution by total tail length to the variation in total skin length was not unexpected as juveniles have been found to have relatively long tails (Webb and Messel, 1978). Although less important when compared to total tail length, skin weight and belly length also showed high contributions to total skin length variation, making them possible alternative single predictors. As a result, skin weight or belly length can be used as accurate predictors in situations where total tail length may not accurately predict total skin length, such as the inability to accurately measure the trait due to tail amputations. When using multiple traits, the findings showed that model 1 (combination of SW, ST, BL, BW, TTL, TLM, TLW, NTL, NWT, NWM) had the highest coefficient of determination. Several studies reported the prediction of length measurements from morphometric data, including the studies of Salem (2011), Fukuda et al . (2013) and Mobaraki et al . (2021), which indicated that head length was one of the significant traits in predicting total body length of Mugger, Saltwater, and Nile crocodiles. Furthermore, snout-vent length of New Guinea and Australian freshwater crocodiles could be reliably predicted from total length, tail length and belly width (Montague, 1984; Edwards et al ., 2017). According to Webb et al . (2012), the combination of ventral length and ventral width on whole belly skins was the best in predicting the standardized total length, while the combination of dorsal length and dorsal width on hornback skins was the best in predicting the standardized total length of Spectacled caiman. The current regression findings suggest that TTL alone or a combination of SW, ST, BL, BW, TTL, TLM, NTL, NWT, NWM and TLW can be used to reliably predict total skin length. Furthermore, the results suggest that a one-unit increase in SW, ST, BL, BW, TTL, TLM, NTL, and NWT is associated to an increase in total skin length by 4.68cm, 1.28cm, 1.03cm, 0.39cm, 0.81cm, 0.13cm, 0.21cm and 0.19cm, respectively. Conversely, a one-unit increase in NWM and TLW corresponds to a decrease in total skin length by 0.14cm and 0.25cm, respectively. There is lack of literature on the prediction of total skin length from skin traits of crocodiles, therefore this study suggests conducting of more research in different crocodilian species. Conclusions The study examined the phenotypic relationship between total skin length and measurable skin traits of Nile crocodiles in captive breeding. The study concludes that there is a positive relationship between total skin length and skin weight, skin thickness, belly length, belly width, total tail length, tail length from the middle, tail width, neck total length, neck width at the top, and neck width at the middle. Based on the findings, these skin traits should be taken into consideration when selecting animals for breeding. The combination of all the measured traits was generally the best in predicting total skin length of Nile crocodiles. Total tail length could independently best predict total skin length of the Nile crocodiles. Overall, it can be concluded from the findings that total skin length can be improved through selection for TTL. This suggests that it would be possible to improve skin yield by selecting for these measurable traits. Perhaps in the future, selecting for fast growing male crocodiles might need some attention as an alternative to increase the skin yield using minimal input than on slower growing female crocodiles. Declarations Acknowledgements Authors would like to thank the Department of Agricultural Economics and Animal Production, University of Limpopo for research infrastructure. Author contributions Project idea, design and study execution were contributed by PR, TJM, KRN and TLT. TJM, KRN and TLT oversaw supervision of the manuscript. PR was responsible for writing of the manuscript. All the authors approved the final manuscript. Ethical approval The study received ethical clearance from the University of Limpopo Animal Research Ethics Committee (AREC). Project number AREC/08/2024: PG. Data availability The datasets generated is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Funding No applicable. Conflict of interests None References Bolton, M., 1989. The management of crocodiles in captivity. FAO conservation guide 22, 62 pages. Digitized: 2016. https://www.fao.org/4/t0226e/t (Accessed 06/12/2024). Botha, P.J. 2010. The distribution, conservation status and blood biochemistry of Nile crocodiles in the Olifants river system, Mpumalanga, South Africa. PhD Thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng. Chala, G., Aychiluhim, T.B. and Karthikeyan, M.R. 2020. A Systematic Study on Nile Crocodile ( Crocodylus niloticus ) Skins for the Preparation of Leather Products. International Journal of Development Research , 10 (08):39605-39614. Dzoma, B.M., Sejoe, S. and Segwagwe, B.V.E. 2008. 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Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , 36(4):373-374. Van Jaarsveldt, K. 1987. Flaying, curing and measuring crocodile skins. In Webb. G.J.W., Manolis, S.C. and Whitehead, P.J. (Eds). Wildlife management: crocodiles and alligators. Surrey Beatty and Sons, 387-392. Wainaina, P.N., Ongarora, B.G. and Tanui, P., 2022. Manufacture of exotic leather and small leather goods from ovine stomach. Journal of the American Leather Chemists Association, 117:195-200. Webb, E.C., Veldsman, D.M., Myburgh, J.G. and Swan, G.E. 2021. Effects of stocking density on growth and skin quality of grower Nile crocodiles ( Crocodylus niloticus ). South African Journal of Animal Science , 51 (2): 142-150.0 Webb, G.J. and Messel, H. 1978. Morphometric analysis of Crocodylus porosus from the north coast of Arnhem Land, northern Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology , 26 (1):1-27. Webb, G.J., Brien, M., Manolis, S.C. and Medrano-Bitar, S. 2012. Predicting total lengths of Spectacled caiman ( Caiman crocodilus ) from skin measurements: A tool for managing the skin trade. Herpetological Conservation and Biology , 7(1):16-26. Zietsman, D. The relevance of ethical value perceptions and supply chain information to international tourists considering purchasing exotic leather products. Masters dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng. Supplementary Files SupplememntaryMaterialTableS1.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6810779","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":472732654,"identity":"89b36c47-a076-433a-838d-7806087636cc","order_by":0,"name":"Pretty Rachuene","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Limpopo - Turfloop Campus: University of Limpopo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pretty","middleName":"","lastName":"Rachuene","suffix":""},{"id":472732655,"identity":"ac66fc2f-9cd0-4fa9-9e96-381a1febc83a","order_by":1,"name":"Khetho Ratshilumela Nemutandani","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2520-1725","institution":"University of Limpopo Faculty of Science and Agriculture","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Khetho","middleName":"Ratshilumela","lastName":"Nemutandani","suffix":""},{"id":472732656,"identity":"15ab558f-a59c-4986-8f10-e19da271477c","order_by":2,"name":"Joseph Thinawanga Mugwabana","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Limpopo - Turfloop Campus: University of Limpopo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Joseph","middleName":"Thinawanga","lastName":"Mugwabana","suffix":""},{"id":472732657,"identity":"eee33af9-dd55-4a90-a10e-910783917a98","order_by":3,"name":"Thobela Louis Tyasi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Limpopo - Turfloop Campus: University of Limpopo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Thobela","middleName":"Louis","lastName":"Tyasi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-03 11:37:00","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6810779/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6810779/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":84986819,"identity":"6feccba2-ed02-4c56-ad21-5c984e88dd39","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-19 14:32:12","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":597498,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSchematic representation of the measurement taken on the Nile crocodile skin (\u003cem\u003eOwn picture\u003c/em\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNote that\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e: A1-A2 = TSL, B1-B2 = BW, B3-B4 = BL, B4-A2 = TTL, T0-A2 = TLM, T1-T2 = TLW, N0-B3 = NTL, N1-N2 = NWT, N3-N4 = NWM\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/ad786b03c673c0c9c27abddd.png"},{"id":84987982,"identity":"61bcd87e-f2ac-4dcb-96d5-1fad74bb9383","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-19 14:40:12","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":30878,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of skin weight on total skin length of Nile crocodiles\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/964f4d76856e0e3c6ec02acf.png"},{"id":84988302,"identity":"bfc344b6-3666-431f-a9af-a0bdacd83f2a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-19 14:48:13","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":28756,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of skin thickness on total skin length of Nile crocodiles\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/88704a3b4a08adf50a4dd23e.png"},{"id":84986821,"identity":"53042ea1-0f7d-45e2-8367-9ba37892f4a9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-19 14:32:12","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":26301,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of belly length on total skin length of Nile crocodiles\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/52799598efd33f1e45464db1.png"},{"id":84986823,"identity":"2bd7999e-25ae-47d1-ad86-5f0bfbf4f536","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-19 14:32:13","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":28935,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of belly width on total skin length of Nile crocodiles\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/aa6a6281e66f9093ce99c265.png"},{"id":84986828,"identity":"fae558fa-2572-4768-98e0-81efc33bc981","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-19 14:32:13","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":24753,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of total tail length on total skin length of Nile crocodiles\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/2f398fa53dab2d21a1392845.png"},{"id":84987983,"identity":"2c822f26-248e-4903-ba37-9d7c70ceebd7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-19 14:40:13","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":26069,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of tail length from middle on total skin length of Nile crocodiles\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/f6dbbbdc6fd38706f9efa784.png"},{"id":84986832,"identity":"45f96921-84ee-437b-8417-e61cb43096d6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-19 14:32:13","extension":"png","order_by":8,"title":"Figure 8","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":30283,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of tail width on total skin length of Nile crocodiles\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"8.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/f96a124bbf4565ad36f0a602.png"},{"id":84987988,"identity":"336958ff-b200-4d65-afd0-0f12f15503dc","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-19 14:40:13","extension":"png","order_by":9,"title":"Figure 9","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":27676,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of neck total length on total skin length of Nile crocodiles\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"9.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/1a2dea1917c2fa0bb49abc7d.png"},{"id":84986827,"identity":"2a09ed9e-d04a-4dbc-ab48-68d7210bc5a3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-19 14:32:13","extension":"png","order_by":10,"title":"Figure 10","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":31769,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of neck width at top on total skin length of Nile crocodiles\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"10.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/796092a812a0379181dee254.png"},{"id":84987994,"identity":"18cb443f-e506-4633-9196-7461a31be3cf","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-19 14:40:13","extension":"png","order_by":11,"title":"Figure 11","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":28900,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of neck width at the middle on total skin length of Nile crocodiles\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"11.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/a4e0c22614cf3b2c372e7294.png"},{"id":85419929,"identity":"999537ed-0307-4cb2-8a6a-97983b57afa8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-25 15:28:30","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1937857,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/4aebfa83-327b-448e-af22-e488016f5ee1.pdf"},{"id":84987986,"identity":"c1fcf303-65e3-4aa2-b807-fad89a34f4a0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-19 14:40:13","extension":"docx","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":28461,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplememntaryMaterialTableS1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6810779/v1/61f9e856d72f47b8b769eb41.docx"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Prediction of total skin length in Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) using measurable skin traits","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe Nile crocodile is one of the major crocodilians used for commercial farming, and these species are 4m long but can grow up to 6m (Rochford \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2016, Isberg \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2019). The species are second to the Saltwater crocodile in length and distribution (Botha, 2010). Crocodiles are essentially farmed for their skin, and the Nile crocodile skin, referred to as the \u0026ldquo;classics\u0026rdquo;, is known for its durability (Fergusson, 2010, Chala \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2020). Following the establishment of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in the late 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century, crocodile farming has globally gained popularity (Lutz, 2022). South Africa plays a major role in Nile crocodile farming and is widely recognised as one of the leading producers (Webb \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2021). Crocodile farming plays a vital role in the exotic leather industry with the skin used to manufacture fashion apparel, furniture and various luxury leather products (Wainaina \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2022). Generally, crocodile leather is highly prized and widely competes in international markets (Zietsman, 2017). However, crocodile skins tend to be downgraded due to poor quality and yield (Moore \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2017), as a results farmers endure significant financial losses. It is essentially critical to improve quality of raw skins as it will affect the processed leather quality (Isberg \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2004).The industry\u0026rsquo;s ability to effectively market crocodile skins critically rely on comprehensive fundamental data (Chala \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2020).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to Platt \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e. (2009), knowledge of relationships between length measurements and morphometric traits, such as skin dimensions, may provide accurate methods of predicting the length. It has been reported that total length of crocodile is directly proportional with some of the skin quality traits, such as belly width, such that the width will increase as the length increases (Bolton, 1989; Gray \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2007). Isberg \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e. (2003) reported that the Saltwater crocodile would essentially have to grow longer (about 2m) in order to reach threshold belly width of about 42cm. Some studies have reported the prediction of total length of crocodiles from morphometric measurements (Webb \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2012; Edwards \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2017). However, based on our knowledge, the effect of measurable skin traits on total skin length of Nile crocodiles is not known. Hence, the current study\u0026rsquo;s objectives were (i) to determine the correlation between total skin length and related measurable skin traits, and (ii) to establish a model for the prediction of total skin length of Nile crocodile.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and methods","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStudy site\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study was conducted at Lalele crocodile farm (24\u0026deg;27\u0026apos;33.8\u0026quot;S 28\u0026deg;34\u0026apos;25.6\u0026quot;E), Modimolle-Mookgopong Municipality, Waterberg District, Limpopo Province. The farm is registered with South African National Standard Crocodiles in Captivity (SANS) since 2014 (ref: 2014/175445/07).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExperimental subjects and general management at the farm\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA total of 180 skins from Nile crocodiles aged \u0026plusmn;35 months, sourced from Lalele Crocodile Farm were used in this study. The crocodiles were raised under captive breeding, which involves incubating eggs until they hatch, and then nurturing the resulting offsprings until slaughter age (Dzoma \u003cem\u003eet\u003c/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eal\u003c/em\u003e., 2008). Female and male crocodiles reach sexual maturity at the age of 10 years and 12 years, respectively and the female crocodile can lay up to 80 eggs per cycle. The eggs are collected, incubated and hatched using the incubator, set at controlled temperatures (28\u0026deg;C or 32\u0026deg;C). The sex of the crocodile is determined by the temperature in the incubator, with 28\u0026deg;C producing female offsprings and 32\u0026deg;C producing male offsprings. The hatchlings are initially kept in a \u0026ldquo;hot house\u0026rdquo;, whereby the temperature runs up to 32\u0026deg;C, and they are fed dry pellets made from fishmeal, carcass soya, and minerals. After reaching 7 months of age, the crocodiles are moved into panels consisting of a 2.5m deep pool and two small feeding pools. A single panel is stocked with about 1000 young crocodiles. To maintain a clean environment and minimize stress on new stock, the water in the ponds is drained and replaced with fresh water before bringing new juveniles into the enclosure (Louw, 2024). \u0026nbsp;The wastewater is used to irrigate pasture on the farm. The crocodiles are fed dry chicken mincemeat and they are slaughtered at the age of 3 years at the Thaba Kwena Abattoir, a certified veterinary establishment approved by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD). The abattoir is authorized to export meat to the European Union and other countries. Slaughtering, skinning, and tanning were done as described by Bolton (1989), Manolis and Webb (2016) and Chala \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e (2020).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResearch design and sampling procedure\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study used a cross-sectional study design, whereby data was collected from the experimental subjects only once. The study used a convenient sampling method, whereby the sample size and study area were determined by the availability and accessibility during the time of the study.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeasurements of traits\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe traits measured on raw Nile crocodile skin includes Total skin length (TSL), skin weight (SW), skin thickness (ST), belly length (BL), belly width (BW), total tail length (TTL), tail length from the middle (TLM), tail width (TLW), \u0026nbsp;neck total length (NTL), neck width at the top (NWT), and neck width at the middle (NWM). The measured traits are described in Table S1 and the schematic representation of the measurements is shown in Figure 1. All measurements were taken by one person to minimize individual variation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStatistical analysis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStatistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS, 2022) software, version 29.0 was used for data analysis. Pearson\u0026rsquo;s correlation was used to determine the phenotypic relationship between total skin length and measurable skin traits. A level of significance of 5% and 1% was set. Simple linear regression and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used to establish models for predicting total skin length from measurable skin traits of the Nile crocodile. Total skin length was defined as the dependent variable, while the skin traits were the independent variables. The following linear regression formula was used:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eY = a + bx + e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eY = Dependent variable (TSL)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ea = constant\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eb = regression coefficient\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ex = independent variable (SW, ST, BL, BW, TTL, TLM, TLM, TLW, NTL, NWT, NWM)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ee = error\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSubsequently, the following stepwise multiple regression models were fitted:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eModel 1 included all the independent variables measured in the study: \u0026nbsp;TSL = SW + ST + BL + BW + TTL + TLM + TLW + NTL + NWT + NWM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eModel 2 included the only the neck, belly and tail measurements as independent variables: \u0026nbsp;TSL = BL + BW + TTL + TLM + TLW + NTL + NWT + NWM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eModel 3 included all the width measurements as independent variables: TSL = BW + TLW + NWT + NWM\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eModel 4 included the only the three total length measurements as independent variables: TSL = BL + TTL + NTL\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe best-fitted model was chosen based on the highest coefficient of determination (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e) and lowest root mean square error (RMSE).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCorrelation between crocodile skin traits\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe correlation between skin traits of Nile crocodile is exhibited in Table 1. According to Turner and Young (1969), correlations are classified as very low (\u0026lt;10%), low (10-20%), moderate (20-40%), high (40-60%), and very high (\u0026gt;60%). A Significant (P\u0026lt;0.01) positive correlation was observed between TSL and all the other traits, except ST, which was significant at P\u0026lt;0.05. The correlation of TSL with skin thickness was low (0.17) and positive. Correlations with TSL were moderate for NTL (0.37), high for NWT (0.51) and NWM (0.60), and very high for SW (0.81), BL (0.79), BW (0.75), TTL (0.87) and TLM (0.78). Among the skin traits, NTL exhibited negative and significant (P\u0026lt;0.01) correlations with ST (-0.60) and TLW (-0.23). Furthermore, NTL had no significant correlation with SW (0.06), BL (-0.02), BW (0.05), NWT (-0.10) and NWM (0.04) while ST had no significant correlation with TTL (-0.07) and TLM (-0.02).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 1\u003c/strong\u003e Correlation between skin traits of Nile crocodile\u003cbr\u003e\u003cimg 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style=\"width: 951px; height: 452.991px;\" width=\"951\" height=\"452.991\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTSL = Total skin length; SW = Skin weight; ST = Skin thickness; BL = Belly length; BW = Belly width; TTL= Total tail length; TLM = Tail length from middle (TLM); TLW = Tail width; NTL = Neck total length; NWT = Neck width at the top; NWM = Neck width at the middle; \u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e = Correlated at P \u0026lt; 0.05; \u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e = Correlated at P \u0026lt; 0.01; \u003csup\u003ens\u003c/sup\u003e= not significant\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimple linear regression analysis of total skin length and skin weight\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe linear regression equation was established as TSL = 96.35 + 0.03SW, as shown in Figure 2, whereby TSL = total skin length, SW = skin weight, 96.35 = constant and 0.03 = regression coefficient. The findings showed that the established predictive model had a coefficient of determination (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e) of 0.65 with root mean square error (RMSE) of 46.87. Furthermore, the results indicated that a 33.06cm increase in TSL, will result in an increase in skin weight by 1kg.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimple linear regression analysis of total skin length and skin thickness\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFigure 3 shows the established regression equation as TSL = 125.52 + 3.58ST, whereby TSL = total skin length, 125.52 = constant, 3.58 = regression coefficient, and ST = skin thickness. The model recorded R\u003csup\u003e2\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sup\u003eof 0.03 and RMSE of 130.29. The results showed that increasing TSL by 3.58cm, ST will increase by1mm.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimple linear regression analysis\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eof total skin length and belly length\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe established regression formula is depicted in Figure 4 as TSL = 35.11 +2.54BL, whereby TSL = total skin length, 35.11 = constant, 2.54 = regression coefficient, and BL = belly length. R\u003csup\u003e2\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sup\u003eand RMSE were found to be 0.63 and 49.88, respectively. Results further showed that if BL increases by 1cm, TSL will increase by 2.54cm.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimple linear regression analysis\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eof total skin length and belly width\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe prediction model was established as TSL = 57.62 + 2.57BW, as depicted in Figure 5, whereby TSL = total skin length, 57.62 = constant, 2.57 = regression coefficient, and BW = belly width. The results revealed that R\u003csup\u003e2\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sup\u003eand RMSE of the regression equation was 0.56 and 59.36, respectively. The results further indicated that a 1cm increase in BW will result in a 2.57cm increase in TSL.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimple linear regression analysis of\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;total skin length and total tail length\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFigure 6 shows the established regression equation, TSL = 34.552 + 1.56TTL, whereby TSL = total skin length, 34.552 = constant, 1.56 = regression coefficient, and TTL = total tail length. The findings showed that TTL model had a coefficient of determination of 0.76 with RMSE of 31.98, accounting for 76% in TSL variation, making it the best trait in predicting TSL. Furthermore, the regression findings showed that a unit increase in TTL will increase TSL by 1.56cm.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimple linear regression analysis\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eof total skin length and tail length from middle\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFigure 7 shows the established regression equation (TSL = 45.91 + 2.02TLM), whereby TSL = total skin length, 45.91 = constant, 2.02 = regression coefficient, and TLM = tail length from middle. \u0026nbsp;R\u003csup\u003e2\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sup\u003eof 0.61 and RMSE of 52.94 were recorded for TLM model. Based on the findings, A unit increase in TLM will result in an increase of TSL by 2.02cm.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimple linear regression analysis\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eof total skin length and tail width\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe established regression equation is shown in Figure 8 as TSL = 86.48 + 2.80TLW, whereby TSL = total skin length, 86.48 = constant, 2.80 = regression coefficient, and TLW = tail width. The predictive model exhibited R\u003csup\u003e2\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sup\u003eof 0.23 with RMSE of 103.02. The results indicated that a unit increase in TLW will result in a 2.80cm increase in TSL.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimple linear regression analysis\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eof total skin length and neck total length\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFigure 9 shows the established regression formula (TSL = 119.00 + 0.66NTL), whereby TSL = total skin length, 119.00 = constant, 0.66 = regression coefficient, and NTL = neck total length. The results showed that the established NTL model recorded 0.14 and 116.00 in R\u003csup\u003e2\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sup\u003eand RMSE, respectively. Based on the results, increasing NTL by 1cm, TSL will increase by 0.66cm.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimple linear regression analysis\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eof total skin length and neck width at top\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe linear regression equation was established as TSL = 88.29 + 4.22NWT (Figure 10) whereby TSL= total skin length, NWT= neck width at top, 88.29= constant and 4.22 = regression coefficient. The coefficient of determination and RMSE were recorded as 0.26 and 99.23, respectively. The results indicated that increasing NWT by 1cm, TSL will increase by 4.22cm.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimple linear regression analysis\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eof total skin length and neck width at the middle\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFigure 11 shows the established regression equation (TSL = 81.42 + 4.08NWM), whereby TSL = total skin length, 81.42 = constant, 4.08 = regression coefficient, and NWM = neck width at the middle. The findings showed that the established predictive model had a coefficient of determination (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e) of 0.36 with root mean square error (RMSE) of 86.43. \u0026nbsp;The results showed if NWM increases by 1cm, TSL will increase by 4.08 cm.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSkin traits effects on Total skin length in crocodile using stepwise multiple regression\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 2 shows the stepwise multiple regression equations for the prediction of total skin length. The results showed that model 1 (TSL = 16.35 + 4.68SW + 1.28ST + 1.03BL + 0.39BW + 0.81TTL + 0.13TLM - 0.25TLW + 0.21NTL + 0.19NWT \u0026ndash; 0.14NWM) had the highest coefficient of determination (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e = 0.90) and the lowest residual mean square error (RMSE = 14.28), making it the best in predicting total skin length of Nile crocodile. The findings suggests that model 1 accounted for 90% in TSL variation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 2\u003c/strong\u003e Stepwise-multiple regression models for the prediction of total skin length from skin traits of Nile crocodile\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"630\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 42px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eModel\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 461px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEquation\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eR\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRMSE\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 42px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 461px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTSL = 16.35 + 4.68SW + 1.28ST + 1.03BL + 0.39BW + 0.81TTL + 0.13TLM - 0.25TLW + 0.21NTL + 0.19NWT \u0026ndash; 0.14NWM\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.90\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e14.28\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 42px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 461px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTSL = 8.92 + 1.12BL + 0.57BW + 0.84TTL + 0.15TLM + 0.003TLW + 0.15NTL + 0.16NWT \u0026ndash; 0.03NWM\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.89\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e14.79\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 42px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 461px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTSL = 53.14 + 2.12BW + 0.25TLW - 0.15NWT + 1.18NWM\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.58\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e57.95\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 42px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 461px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTSL = 9.85 + 1.48BL + 1.00TTL + 0.13NTL\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.88\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e16.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 502px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDecision\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 60px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHigher is better\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eLower is better\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSW = Skin weight; ST = Skin thickness; BL = Belly length; BW = Belly width; TTL= Total tail length; TLM = Tail length from middle (TLM); TLW = Tail width; NTL = Neck total length; NWT = Neck width at the top; NWM = Neck width at the middle R\u003csup\u003e2\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sup\u003e= Coefficient of determination; Adj. RMSE = Root mean square error.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eMorphometric data is recommended in crocodilian research projects to establish predictive models that link various body measurements (Platt \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2009). The first objective of the study was to determine the correlation between total skin length and other objectively measured skin traits of Nile crocodile. The findings showed that total skin length had very high positive and significant (P\u0026lt;0.01) correlations with skin weight, belly length, belly width, total tail length and tail length from middle. Correlations of TSL with skin thickness was low and positive at P\u0026lt;0.05, moderate for neck total length, and high for neck width at the top and neck width at the middle at P\u0026lt;0.01 (see Table 1). However, no significant correlation was recorded between total skin length and neck width at the middle. The non-significant correlations implies that a change in one trait may not affect the other. Hutton (1987) found that total length of live Nile crocodile exhibited very high positive correlations with snout-vent length (r = 0.995), belly scale (0.989), and fifth tail scale (0.996). The determination of the phenotypic correlation among morphometric traits, including that of the skin, was reported in several exotic leather producing species. This includes reports from Nemutandani (2023) which indicated that skin size exhibited low (r = 0.14) and very high (r = 0.61) positive correlations with skin thickness and skin weight, respectively, in South African ostriches. Engelbrecht (2013) also reported a very high positive correlation (r = 0.75) between skin size and raw skin weight of ostriches. Furthermore, current correlation results showed that neck total length had negative but significant correlations with skin thickness and tail width. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to Nemutandani \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e. (2024), the significant negative correlations between skin traits implies that a decrease in one trait will result in increase in the other. Furthermore, neck total length exhibited non-significant correlations with skin weight, belly length, belly width, neck width at the top, neck width at the middle, while skin thickness had no significant correlation with total tail length and tail length from the middle. This is in contradiction with Nemutandani (2023), who reported moderate phenotypic correlations between neckline total length with neckline width at the top (r = 0.20) and neck width at the middle (r = 0.27) in South African Ostriches. The contradiction may be attributed to the use of varying species. All the other traits exhibited significant positive correlations with each other. Current correlation findings indicate that total skin length can be improved by selecting for belly and tail traits, which in turn result in bigger sized and heavier skins (more yield). Strong positive correlations found between morphometric traits suggests that the traits may be controlled by a similar gene (Mathapo \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2022). Correlation analysis shows if and the type of relationship that exists between total skin length and skin traits, however; it does not identify traits that can be used to best predict total skin length. Hence, the current study established equations for predicting total skin length from skin traits using simple linear and stepwise-multiple regression analysis methods. The current regression results showed that when using single traits to predict total skin length, total tail length exhibited a higher coefficient of determination, making it the best predictor trait. The higher contribution by total tail length to the variation in total skin length was not unexpected as juveniles have been found to have relatively long tails (Webb and Messel, 1978). Although less important when compared to total tail length, skin weight and belly length also showed high contributions to total skin length variation, making them possible alternative single predictors. As a result, skin weight or belly length can be used as accurate predictors in situations where total tail length may not accurately predict total skin length, such as the inability to accurately measure the trait due to tail amputations. When using multiple traits, the findings showed that model 1 (combination of SW, ST, BL, BW, TTL, TLM, TLW, NTL, NWT, NWM) had the highest coefficient of determination. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeveral studies reported the prediction of length measurements from morphometric data, including the studies of Salem (2011), Fukuda \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e. (2013) and Mobaraki \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e. (2021), which indicated that head length was one of the significant traits in predicting total body length of Mugger, Saltwater, and Nile crocodiles. Furthermore, snout-vent length of New Guinea and Australian freshwater crocodiles could be reliably predicted from total length, tail length and belly width (Montague, 1984; Edwards \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., 2017). According to Webb \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e. (2012), the combination of ventral length and ventral width on whole belly skins was the best in predicting the standardized total length, while the combination of dorsal length and dorsal width on hornback skins was the best in predicting the standardized total length of Spectacled caiman. The current regression findings suggest that TTL alone or a combination of SW, ST, BL, BW, TTL, TLM, NTL, NWT, NWM and TLW can be used to reliably predict total skin length. Furthermore, the results suggest that a one-unit increase in SW, ST, BL, BW, TTL, TLM, NTL, and NWT is associated to an increase in total skin length by 4.68cm, 1.28cm, 1.03cm, 0.39cm, 0.81cm, 0.13cm, 0.21cm and 0.19cm, respectively. Conversely, a one-unit increase in NWM and TLW corresponds to a decrease in total skin length by 0.14cm and 0.25cm, respectively. There is lack of literature on the prediction of total skin length from skin traits of crocodiles, therefore this study suggests conducting of more research in different crocodilian species. \u003c/p\u003e\n\n"},{"header":"Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study examined the phenotypic relationship between total skin length and measurable skin traits of Nile crocodiles in captive breeding. The study concludes that there is a positive relationship between total skin length and skin weight, skin thickness, belly length, belly width, total tail length, tail length from the middle, tail width, neck total length, neck width at the top, and neck width at the middle. Based on the findings, these skin traits should be taken into consideration when selecting animals for breeding. The combination of all the measured traits was generally the best in predicting total skin length of Nile crocodiles. Total tail length could independently best predict total skin length of the Nile crocodiles. Overall, it can be concluded from the findings that total skin length can be improved through selection for TTL. This suggests that it would be possible to improve skin yield by selecting for these measurable traits. Perhaps in the future, selecting for fast growing male crocodiles might need some attention as an alternative to increase the skin yield using minimal input than on slower growing female crocodiles.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAuthors would like to thank the Department of Agricultural Economics and Animal Production, University of Limpopo for research infrastructure.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProject idea, design and study execution were contributed by PR, TJM, KRN and TLT. TJM, KRN and TLT oversaw supervision of the manuscript. PR was responsible for writing of the manuscript. All the authors approved the final manuscript. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"_Toc191086147\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthical approval\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study received ethical clearance from the University of Limpopo Animal Research Ethics Committee (AREC). Project number AREC/08/2024: PG.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets generated is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConflict of interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNone\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBolton, M., 1989. The management of crocodiles in captivity. FAO conservation guide 22, 62 pages. Digitized: 2016. https://www.fao.org/4/t0226e/t (Accessed 06/12/2024).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBotha, P.J. 2010. The distribution, conservation status and blood biochemistry of Nile crocodiles in the Olifants river system, Mpumalanga, South Africa. PhD Thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChala, G., Aychiluhim, T.B. and Karthikeyan, M.R. 2020. A Systematic Study on Nile Crocodile (\u003cem\u003eCrocodylus\u003c/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eniloticus\u003c/em\u003e) Skins for the Preparation of Leather Products. \u003cem\u003eInternational Journal of Development Research\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e10\u003c/em\u003e(08):39605-39614.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDzoma, B.M., Sejoe, S. and Segwagwe, B.V.E. 2008. Commercial crocodile farming in Botswana. \u003cem\u003eTropical Animal Health and Production\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e40\u003c/em\u003e:377-381.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEdwards, G.P., Webb, G.J., Manolis, S.C. and Mazanov, A. 2017. Morphometric analysis of the Australian freshwater crocodile (\u003cem\u003eCrocodylus johnstoni\u003c/em\u003e). \u003cem\u003eAustralian Journal of Zoology\u003c/em\u003e, 65:97-111.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEngelbrecht, A. 2013. Establishing genetic and environmental parameters for ostrich (\u003cem\u003eStruthio camelus domesticus\u003c/em\u003e) growth and slaughter characteristics. PhD Thesis, Stellenbosch University, Western Cape, South Africa.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFergusson, R.A. 2010. Nile Crocodile \u003cem\u003eCrocodylus niloticus\u003c/em\u003e. In Manolis, S.C. and Stevenson, C. (Eds). Crocodiles. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan (3\u003csup\u003erd\u003c/sup\u003e ed). Crocodile Specialist Group, Darwin, 84-89.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFukuda, Y., Saalfeld, K., Lindner, G. and Nichols, T. 2013. Estimation of total length from head length of saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) in the Northern Territory, Australia. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Herpetology\u003c/em\u003e, 47(1):34-40.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGray, E.M., Ahmadi-Esfahani, F.Z. and Isberg, S.R. 2007. Simulating economic values of a genetic improvement program for Australian farmed saltwater crocodiles. The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 51:57-72.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHewitt, L. and Small, A. 2021. Welfare of farmed crocodilians: Identification of potential animal-based measures using elicitation of expert opinion. \u003cem\u003eAnimals\u003c/em\u003e, 11(12): 3450.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHutton, J.M. 1987. 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The relevance of ethical value perceptions and supply chain information to international tourists considering purchasing exotic leather products. Masters dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Model, Simple linear regression, phenotypic correlation, selection criterion","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6810779/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6810779/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eNile crocodiles are common in South Africa, reaching up to 6m in total length. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the phenotypic correlation between total skin length and other measurable skin traits, and (2) to derive a model for predicting total skin length of Nile crocodile. 180 skins were used to measure total skin length and skin traits viz skin weight (SW), skin thickness (ST), neck total length (NTL), neck width at the top (NWT), neck width at the middle (NWM), belly width (BW), belly length (BL), total tail Length (TTL), tail length from the middle (TLM), and Tail width (TLW).\u0026nbsp; Data analysis was computed using Pearson’s correlation, Simple linear regression and stepwise multiple regression techniques in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 29.0. Highly positive correlations (P\u0026lt;0.01) were found between total skin length and SW (0.81), BL (0.79), BW (0.75), TTL (0.87), TLM (0.78), TLW (0.48), NTL (0.37), NWT (0.51) and NWM (0.60). High positive correlations (P\u0026lt;0.05) were found between TSL and ST (0.17). Linear regression findings showed that TTL (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e = 0.76) was the best trait to predict TSL. Furthermore, regression findings showed that a combination of (ST, BL, BW, TTL, TLM, TLW, NTL, NWT, NWM (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e = 0.90; RMSE = 14.23) was the best in predicting TSL of Nile crocodiles. The results suggest the traits, particularly TTL, can be used as a selection criterion for improving total skin length in Nile crocodiles.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Prediction of total skin length in Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) using measurable skin traits","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-06-19 14:32:08","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6810779/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"a37c65f1-ad91-41a2-9cff-43f017d94a97","owner":[],"postedDate":"June 19th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-06-25T15:20:23+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-06-19 14:32:08","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6810779","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6810779","identity":"rs-6810779","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}