Population bottleneck refers to an event that drastically reduces the size of a population, leading to decreased genetic diversity. This can occur due to natural disasters, disease outbreaks, or human activities such as hunting or habitat destruction.
Picture a water bottle filled with marbles representing individuals in a population. Now imagine squeezing the bottle tightly so that only a few marbles can pass through at once. This represents the population bottleneck where only a small fraction survives and reproduces.
Genetic Drift: Random changes in gene frequencies within populations over time.
Founder Effect: When a small group from a larger population establishes itself as separate from the main population.
Inbreeding Depression: Reduced fitness (health) resulting from mating between closely related individuals within a small population.
Study guides for the entire semester
200k practice questions
Glossary of 50k key terms - memorize important vocab
© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.
AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.