Question

The average body length of Drosophila nasuta collected from Andaman and Nicobar Islands is 2 mm. From this population, a few males and females having a body length of 3 mm were selected and interbred. The average body length of the resultant progeny was 2.5 mm. The heritability (h²) of the body length in this population is ________. (round off to one decimal place)

Answer 1

Correct Answer: 0.5

We use the formula for heritability: \[ h^2 = \frac{\text{Mean of progeny} - \text{Mean of population}}{\text{Mean of selected parents} - \text{Mean of population}} \] Given:
- Mean of population = 2 mm,
- Mean of selected parents = 3 mm,
- Mean of progeny = 2.5 mm.
Substituting the values into the formula: \[ h^2 = \frac{2.5 - 2}{3 - 2} = \frac{0.5}{1} = 0.5 \] Thus, the heritability (h²) of the body length in this population is 0.5.