How does the bottleneck effect lead to genetic changes in a population of organisms
The bottleneck effect is a phenomenon that occurs when there is a significant reduction in the size of a population, leading to a decrease in genetic diversity. This can happen due to natural disasters, human intervention, or disease outbreaks, for example.
As the population size is reduced, the genetic diversity is also reduced because some genes are lost from the population. This means that the remaining individuals will have fewer variations in their genes, which can lead to changes in the genetic makeup of the population over time.
The bottleneck effect can also increase the frequency of certain alleles in a population. This happens because the surviving individuals are more likely to pass on certain traits to their offspring, which can become more common in the population.
Overall, the bottleneck effect can lead to genetic changes in a population by reducing genetic diversity, increasing the frequency of certain alleles, and altering the frequency of genetic mutations. These changes can have significant impacts on the evolution and survival of a species.