EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF ERRORS OF HERITABILITY ESTIMATES IN INDEX SELECTION

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Abstract
Three generations of index selection for the combined genetic gain in 13-day larval and 21-day pupal weight were carried out in each of 3 replicates in Tribolium castaneum. Five indexes were constructed using differing levels of heritability for larval weight (0.9, 0.7, 0.5, 0.3 and 0.1). The effect of parameter estimation errors, involving larval weight, on the efficiency of index selection was thus evaluated experimentally. The theoretical expectations that errors of parameter estimation would affect the efficiency of index selection was confirmed. The overestimation of the parameters would affect the selection efficiency more than the underestimation. The combined gain was realized mainly through genetic change in pupal weight, a trait with lower heritability.