Response to bidirectional and reverse selection for mating behavior in Japanese quail Coturnix coturnix japonica.

Reported is a genetic analysis of mating behavior in male Japanese quail. Data were obtained from replicated experiments involving 12 generations of divergent selection for high and low cumulative number of completed matings (CNCM). No trait measured in the randombred control population changed significantly over time. Asymmetrical responses between the divergent lines were observed during various phases of selection. Reversed selection showed that additive genetic variance remains in the high lines. Small and unimportant were drift and error variances. Genetic and phenotypic relationships between CNCM and body weight were small but positive, while those between CNCM and relative aggressiveness were positive and intermediate. Also positive and intermediate were the correlations between CNCM and cloacal gland size.