Modelo de von Bertalanffy para a descrição do crescimento de mamíferos de corte

Abstract

Among the species of animals reared for meat production, the mammals stand out for their great economic and nutritional protagonism. Modeling the growth of these species can facilitate decision making regarding their management, breeding programs, among others, and for this, nonlinear regression models have been frequently used. Among the non-linear models, the von Bertalanffy model has been very applied in several areas, with different parameterizations. This model has been commonly used with an allometric value of m = 2=3, however, for mammals it is believed that this value can be m = 3=4. The goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of the parameterization effect and the application of different allometric values to obtain the most adequate fit of the von Bertalanffy model in the description of the growth curve of meat-producing mammals. The data analyzed were obtained from research institutions and the literature, which refer to the weight of meat-producing mammals along the age. The statistical software R was used for the analyses. Considering the quality evaluators used, the Von Bertalanffy model with allometric value of m = 3=4 provided the best fit for the description of the growth of the mammals under study.