Fig. 6

Evolution of the genetic level across generations. a Population average breeding value compared to generation 0 in units of genetic standard deviations of the base generation, b difference in population average breeding value compared to selection based on breeding values, c average breeding value of top 20 males and females compared to generation 0, d difference in breeding values of the best animals compared to selection based on breeding values. The shaded regions in plots (a) and (c) indicate the 95% confidence intervals of the means. The shaded regions in plots (b) and (d) indicate the 95% confidence interval of the mean difference of the genetic level achieved with a selection criterion compared to selection based on breeding values