Answer:
The frequencies for blood group alleles in the Dunkers population differ significantly from those in the general U.S. population. This would be an example of the founder effect (a type of genetic drift).
Step-by-step explanation:
The Dunkers fled to the United States from Germany to avoid religious intolerance. The blood group allele frequencies in the Dunkers population differ the general U.S. population due to the founder effect.
A random change of allele frequency or a gene pool change occurring in a small population is known as genetic drift. The founder effect (a type of genetic drift) occurs when a small population breaks away from a large parent population and moves to a new location and forms a unique population.
The new population formed is phenotypically and genotypically different from its parent population due to the loss of genetic variation. So, sometimes the founder effect may lead to the speciation and evolution of new species. As a result of less genetic variation and inbreeding in the new population, it is more vulnerable to extinction. When this population reaches a significant size after several generations, the alleles that were rarely present in the original population may be lost altogether or dispersed much more throughout the population. This may cause an increase in the frequency of recessive alleles and as a result, the number of homozygous individuals with certain recessive traits also increases. Polydactyly found among the Old Order Amish population in Pennsylvania is an example.