Estimates of heritability and genetic correlation for growth traits at harvest in redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus

The current study assessed genetic parameters of three growth traits in redclaw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus, including body weight (BW), body length (BL) and carapace length (CL), and explored how the number of families affected the heritability estimates of these traits. A total of 350 families were produced, and seven family levels containing 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 families respectively were designed. After a 170 d communally rearing period for 350 families, males had significantly higher BW and BL averages (P