If the Broad Sense Heritability is Close to 0 for a Population

Question

If the broad sense heritability is close to 0 for a population then
A) much of the observed variability in the population is due to genetic differences.
B) much of the observed variability in the population is due to heritable traits.
C) little of the observed variability is due to genetic differences.
D) little of the observed variability is due to environmental factors.
E) None of these

Accepted Answer

Broad sense heritability measures the proportion of the total variance in a trait that is due to genetic differences. If the broad sense heritability is close to 0, then little of the observed variability is due to genetic differences. This means that other factors, such as environmental factors or chance, are likely playing a larger role in determining the variation in the trait within the population.