[Campbell Biology P.544] Which statement best describes a key difference between the founder... | Practice Question
Which statement best describes a key difference between the founder effect and the bottleneck effect?
A: The founder effect always leads to a decrease in genetic diversity, while the bottleneck effect can sometimes increase it.
B: The founder effect occurs when a new population is established by a small number of individuals, whereas the bottleneck effect results from a drastic reduction in an existing population's size.
C: The bottleneck effect is primarily caused by human activities, while the founder effect is always a natural phenomenon.
D: Allele frequencies are randomly changed in the founder effect, but predictably altered in the bottleneck effect.
Explanation
The founder effect occurs when a new population is established by a small number of individuals who separate from a larger population, leading to a gene pool that differs by chance from the source population. The bottleneck effect occurs when a large existing population undergoes a drastic reduction in size, leading to a similarly reduced and altered gene pool among the survivors.