title: Size of breeding populations required for selection programs.
abstract: The minimum population size required for selection in order to reduce the effect of genetic drift to a particular level has been considered. The model of Nicholas was extended to include the measurement-error variance in the response variance. Situations where the sex ratios among scored and breeding individuals are unequal are also considered. When the duration of a selection experiment is relatively long, Nicholas' approximation (i.e., assuming that measurement error is negligible relative to drift) is useful in determining the minimum effective population size required. However, the measurement-error variance becomes an important source of variation in short-term (≤ 5 generations) selection experiments, and should not be ignored.
authors.affiliation: Avian Genetics Laboratory, Department of Animal Science, University of British Columbia, 248-2357 Main Mall, V6T 1Z4, Vancouver, B. C., Canada.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Aggrey
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Cheng