Selection and Breeding Programs in Aquaculture

Hardcover  XVII + 364 pp.,  ISBN 1402033419      £69.00

This book describes the basic elements in the theory of animal breeding and inheritance of quantitative economic traits and the way in which this technology can be implemented in selective breeding programs for aquaculture species. The role and the implementation of molecular genetics in modern selective breeding programs is also addressed. The book's main objective is to stimulate development of efficient selective breeding programs in aquaculture, the world's fastest growing industry for animal protein production. Considerable genetic gain from selection has been demonstrated for several aquatic species in traits like growth rate and survival. AKVAFORSK and allied institutions have demonstrated the value of selection in Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, Nile tilapia, rohu carp and the shrimp Penaeus vannamei. Presently, however, less than 10 % of total world aquaculture production is based on genetically improved animals. The urgent challenge to the industry is to implement and start selective breeding programs in order to make the aquaculture industry more competitive and sustainable, through improving the utilization of feed, land and water resources.

The text has been written by scientists at AKVAFORSK, Akvaforsk Genetics Center and coworkers in order to summarise present knowledge in the field, and to encourage implementation of selective breeding programs for economically important fish and shellfish species around the world.

The book will be of interest to university students, scientists in aquaculture and industry consultants.

Contents

Preface
Contributors

1. Status and scope of aquaculture - T. Gjedrem
2. Basic genetics - T.Gjedrem and O.Andersen
3. Population genetics - O. Andersen and B. Hayes
4. Polygenic inheritance - H.B. Bentsen
5. Basic statistical parameters - T. Gjedrem and I. Olesen
6. Kinship, relationship and inbreeding - A. K. Sonesson, J.A. Woolliams and Th.H.E. Meuwissen
7. Selection - T. Gjedrem and J. Thodesen v 8. Reproductive traits in aquatic animals - T. Refstie and T. Gjedrem
9. Methods for estimating phenotypic and genetic parameters - K. Kolstad
10. Breeding strategies - K.T. Fjalestad
11. Selection methods - K.T. Fjalestad
12. Design of breeding programs - B. Gjerde
13. Prediction of breeding values - B. Gjerde
14. Genotype - environment interaction - T. Gjedrem
15. Measuring genetic change - M. Rye and T. Gjedrem
16. Breeding plans - T. Gjedrem
17. Organising breeding programs - T. Gjedrem and T. Refstie
18. Chromosome engineering - T. Refstie and T. Gjedrem
19. Modern biotechnolgoy and aquaculture - B. Hayes and O. Andersen
20. Genetic interactions between farmed and wild fish, with examples from the Atlantic salmon case in Norway - H.B. Bentsen and J. Thodesen

Appendix
References
Index