Genetic Diversity And Adaptation

Question 1

what is genetic diversity?

Answer 1

number of different alleles of genes in a population

Question 2

what does genetic diversity enable?

Answer 2

natural selection

Question 3

what is the process of natural selection?(general)

Answer 3

• random mutation can result in new alleles of a gene
• many mutations can be harmful but in certain environments the new allele of the gene may benefit the possessor which leads to increasing differential reproductive success
• advantageous allels are interested by members of the next generation
• over many generations, new allele increases in frequency in the population

Question 4

what is a genetic bottleneck?

Answer 4

• event that causes a big reduction in a population
• this reduces the number of different alleles in the gene pool so this reduces genetic diversity
• survivors reproduce and a larger population is created from a few individuals
• frequency of alleles in the new colony is different to the one in the original population
• so there is a higher incidence of genetic disease