Testing marker‐based estimates of heritability in the wild

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Marker‐based estimates of heritability are an attractive alternative to pedigree‐based methods for estimating quantitative genetic parameters in field studies where it is difficult or impossible to determine relationships and pedigrees. Here I test the ability of the marker‐based method to estimate heritability of a suite of traits in a wild population of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) using marker data from 32 microsatellite loci. I compared marker‐based estimates with estimates obtained using a pedigree and the animal model. Marker‐based estimates of heritability were imprecise and downwardly biased. The high degree of uncertainty in marker‐based estimates suggests that the method may be sufficient to detect the presence of genetic variance for highly heritable traits, but not sufficiently reliable to estimate genetic parameters.