Variance Components Analysis in Heritability Studies

Abstract

THE relatively recent introduction of statistical methods in the analysis of problems concerned with the inheritance of quantitative traits has made the literature on the subject somewhat foreboding to those unfamiliar with the techniques involved. If practical applications of these investigations are to be made, some effort must be spent in bridging the gap between the theoretical investigators and the people who are in a position to make use of their results. It is the intent of this paper to present in detail a method of estimating heritability which is applicable to many of the heritability problems confronting poultry geneticists. Lerner (1950) has indicated in general the procedure to be used in the analysis of variance components, but a considerable knowledge of statistics is required to carry through the analysis correctly. The analysis would be quite simple, if the subclass numbers were equal, but this usually is not the case, …