A Comprehensive Review of History and Use of Variance Components with Special Reference to Animal Breeding

Authors: M. Ziya FIRAT

Abstract: A comprehensive review of history and use of methods for estimating variance components is given and methods are compared without much consideration to computational aspects. Problems relating to the components of variance are considered in an animal breeding context rather than an estimation point of view. Particular attention is paid to the Bayesian approach to variance components.

Keywords: Variance components, analysis of variance method, maximum likelihood, Bayesian method