Selection strategies and artificial evolution.

Artificial selection results in biolgical changes, creating artificial evolution. When using selection indexes, the artificial evolution depends on the relative economic (or other) weight of traits in the breeding objective, and on the phenotypic and genetic variances and covariances among these traits and the traits recorded in the selection index. As shown here, the selection strategy (in this case, individual selection versus progeny test selection) can also have marked effects on the kind of artificial evolution produced. Thus, where economic weights are uncertain, choice between alternative selection strategies might take into account the different types of animal or plant resulting.