Heritability estimates from sire, dam, and sire plus dam components of variance were obtained for behavioral and production traits in Japanese quail selected for low or high dustbathing activity for 17 generations and the randombred control. Behavioral observations in males included aspects of dustbathing behavior (short-term and long-term recording), mating behavior, locomotor activity, fear-related responses (reaction towards a pencil, emergence from a box, and recovery from induced tonic immobility), and aggressive reactions towards a quail-head model. Numbers of offspring involved across lines and generations ranged from 606 to 8,171. Estimates for the production traits 12-wk body weight, plumage condition, age at first egg, and laying intensity from 12 to 23 wk were based on 8,171 males and 4,801 females. Heritabilities for behavioral traits were of low to moderate magnitude. Estimates were high for 12-wk body weight, and moderate to low for the other production characteristics. Comparisons between heritabilities for behavioral and production traits are to be viewed with caution. Low estimates for behavioral traits might result from high phenotypic variances due to problems in definition and measurement of the patterns. Assumptions on the relationship between behavioral patterns and fitness should not only rely upon heritability estimates but also should be examined in crossing experiments.
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Gerken et al. (1992) studied this question.
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