[Campbell Biology P.544] A population has recently undergone a severe bottleneck event. Even... | Practice Question

A population has recently undergone a severe bottleneck event. Even if the population size eventually recovers, what is a likely long-term consequence mentioned in the text?

  • A: The population will quickly regain its original genetic diversity due to rapid reproduction of survivors.
  • B: Chance events will have less impact on the gene pool once the population recovers, eliminating the effects of genetic drift.
  • C: It may experience low levels of genetic variation for a long period of time, a legacy of genetic drift that occurred when the population was small.
  • D: The frequency of all alleles will return to their pre-bottleneck levels once the population size stabilizes.

Explanation

The text explicitly states: 'But even if a population that has passed through a bottleneck ultimately recovers in size, it may have low levels of genetic variation for a long period of time—a legacy of the genetic drift that occurred when the population was small.' This highlights the long-term impact of genetic drift after a bottleneck, where the reduced genetic diversity persists.