Question

Genetic drift can cause dramatic shifts in allele frequencies when the population is large, asexual, genetically diverse, and small?

1) True
2) False

Answer 1

Genetic drift results in changes to allele frequencies due to chance events, with a significant impact in small populations. Large populations are less affected by genetic drift. Significant shifts in allele frequencies due to genetic drift are most pronounced in small populations, not large ones.

Step-by-step explanation:

False, genetic drift is a mechanism of evolution that leads to a change in allele frequencies within a population over time. This process is especially significant in small populations. Genetic drift occurs due to random events that cause certain alleles to be passed on by chance at different rates than others. Large populations are less subject to genetic drift because the large number of individuals means that the allele frequencies are less likely to change purely by chance. Asexual reproduction, genetic diversity, and population size all influence how genetic drift operates, but dramatic shifts in allele frequencies due to genetic drift are most pronounced in small populations, not large ones.

Natural disasters or other chance events, such as the event known as the founder effect, can lead to genetic drift by drastically reducing a population's size or by isolating a small group from a larger population. These events can result in a significant shift in allele frequencies due to the random nature of survival and reproduction following the event.