Heritability is an idea originated in breeding, and it is interesting mainly for breeders. It is defined as the part of the variation for a trait in a population that is due to genetic variation (in contrast to enviromental variation).
The heritability is useful for a breeder because if the variation observed in a population is mainly due to enviromental factors the trait won't be improved by selecting the best individuals in the population.
However, the concept is usually misunderstood. First, it always depends on the population studied. One trait could have high heritability in one population, and low in another because different populations can have different genetic variation. Moreover, for a particular population... (read more)
Heritability is an idea originated in breeding, and it is interesting mainly for breeders. It is defined as the part of the variation for a trait in a population that is due to genetic variation (in contrast to enviromental variation).
The heritability is useful for a breeder because if the variation observed in a population is mainly due to enviromental factors the trait won't be improved by selecting the best individuals in the population.
However, the concept is usually misunderstood. First, it always depends on the population studied. One trait could have high heritability in one population, and low in another because different populations can have different genetic variation. Moreover, for a particular population... (read more)