Question

Name and describe 3 mechanisms that can lead to genetic drift

Answer 1

Genetic drift can occur through chance events, the introduction of new alleles, and the bottleneck effect. It leads to random changes in allele frequencies in a small population.

Step-by-step explanation:

Genetic drift is a random change in allele frequencies that occurs in a small population. It can be caused by three main mechanisms:

1. Chance events such as natural disasters can cause genetic drift. For example, if a storm kills the only white rabbits in a population, the allele for white fur may diminish or disappear.
2. The introduction of new alleles through mutation can also lead to genetic drift. For instance, if a mutation produces a third allele for fur color in a rabbit population, the gene pool changes to incorporate the new allele.
3. Natural or human-caused events that randomly kill a large portion of the population, known as the bottleneck effect, can magnify genetic drift. The genetic structure of the survivors becomes the genetic structure of the entire population, which may be very different from before the disaster.