Ancestor Contribution (Effective Ancestors) | Scribe

Ancestor Contribution (Effective Ancestors)

    What it measures

    Every ancestor contributes a proportion of a dog's expected genetic makeup — parents 50%, grandparents 25%, halving with each generation. When an ancestor appears multiple times through linebreeding, their contribution increases. Ancestor Contribution calculates each ancestor's total proportional contribution and derives a single diversity index: fe.

    How fe is calculated

    Where pi is each ancestor's proportional genetic contribution as a decimal. Even contributions → small sum of squares → high fe. Concentrated contributions → large squared terms → low fe.

    Worked examples

    With a full 10-generation pedigree and no inbreeding, fe grows closer to the number of unique ancestors. When linebreeding concentrates contributions, fe drops.

    How it differs from ALC

    The diversity ratio

    The top ancestors list

    The Inbreeding Analysis page ranks top contributing ancestors by blood percentage. Parents will typically be at the top (~50% each). The interesting information is in non-parent ancestors — grandparents and beyond with unusually high contributions, suggesting linebreeding or popular sire effects. Click "Show all" for the complete list.

    Where you'll find it

    Dog → Genealogy → Inbreeding Analysis

    Ancestor Contribution appears alongside the PCI block, showing fe, unique ancestors, diversity ratio, parental contributions, and the ranked top ancestors list.