Final answer:
Gene flow is the exchange of genetic material through interbreeding between populations, introducing genetic diversity, while gene pool is the complete set of genetic material within a breeding population.
Step-by-step explanation:
Gene flow refers to the exchange of genetic material through interbreeding, while gene pool refers to all the genetic material in a breeding population. Gene flow is a crucial evolutionary force, allowing for the exchange of genes between populations, which introduces genetic diversity. This diversity is vital for the survival of species, as it can help a species adapt to changing environments or resist diseases. Interbreeding in this context means the mating of individuals from different populations, which brings together different sets of alleles and can lead to new genetic combinations within a population. The gene pool, on the other hand, encompasses all the alleles present within a given breeding population. Each individual contributes their unique combination of alleles to the gene pool, which includes variants that may encode for different traits. The concept of a gene pool is central to the field of population genetics, which studies how selective forces and natural events affect the genetic composition of populations over time.