In: Biology
Define founder effects and population bottlenecks. How are these processes different? How are they similar? How are these processes related to genetic drift and how do they impact genetic variation within populations?
According to chegg rules we cannot answer more than one question in a single post.
Founder effect:
When a small number of colonizers interbreed to form a population, the genetic diversity of the population is low. This reduction in diversity is known as founder effect.
Bottleneck event:
This is an event which suddenly reduces the size of the population. This can be due to an environmental disaster or habitat destruction.
Differences:
One is the reduction in genetic diversity while the other is a reduction in the size of the population.