A Study Was Conducted to Investigate the Levels of Calcium

question 19

Essay

A study was conducted to investigate the levels of calcium and growth hormone excreted in chicken dung on a major chicken farm. The variances (V) were calculated and are shown below. $$\begin{array} { c c | c | } \hline \text { Variance } & \text { Calcium } & \text { Growth hormone } \\\hline V _ { \mathrm { p } } & 321.2 & 95.8 \\\hline V _ { \mathrm { E } } & 119.7 & 69.4 \\\hline V _ { \mathrm { A } } & 107.4 & 10.1 \\\hline V _ { \mathrm { D } } & 94.1 & 16.3 \\\hline\end{array}$$ a. Calculate the narrow-sense heritability for both traits (calcium and growth hormone levels).
b. Which trait, if any, will more likely respond to artificial selection?

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Definitions:

Natural Ecosystem

A community of living organisms and their physical environment interacting as a system in nature, untouched by significant human influence.

Successive Trophic Level

A hierarchical position in a food chain or food web, higher levels are progressively further from primary producers in terms of their source of food.

Decreasing Amount

A reduction in quantity, volume, or number over time or in a particular process.

Ecological Pyramid

A graphical representation showing the relationship between different trophic levels in an ecosystem regarding energy, biomass, or numbers.