Response to selection and heritability for growth in the Kuruma prawn, Penaeus japonicus

Divergent selection for High (H) and Low (L) growth was carried out for a s ingle generation with the aim of measuring response to selection and herita bility of growth in Penaeus japonicus. H and L growth (weight at 6 months o f age) parents were selected from a commercial prawn pond which had been st ocked with post-larvae from wild caught broodstock. Offspring of H x H, L X L and reciprocally mated (H x L, L x H) parents were reared and grown out in laboratory tanks. The direct response to one generation of selection ave raged 10.7%, being 8.3% for high growth and 13.1% for low growth. Responses at other ages averaged 5.7, 6.9 and 7.9% at 3, 4 and 5 months, respectivel y, The average realised heritability for weight at 6 months of age was 23.4 % which did not differ significantly from the estimate from the regression of offspring on mid parent of 27.7% It was concluded that the heritability of growth in P. japonicus is moderate but that rates of response to selecti on will be high largely due to the high levels of natural variation. (C) 20 00 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.