An ecologist observes a population of snakes on an island for a month every year. After the eleventh month, he sees the snake population has been decimated, and decides to wait for the snakes to repopulate before coming back for further observation. When he returns five years later, he finds a very homogenous-looking population of snakes. What is the name of the effect he observed?

EVOLUTION OF A POPULATION

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Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]

A	Genetic Drift
B	Founder Effect
C	Disaster effect
D	Bottleneck effect

Explanation:

Detailed explanation-1: -The bottleneck effect is an extreme example of genetic drift that happens when the size of a population is severely reduced. Events like natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, fires) can decimate a population, killing most individuals and leaving behind a small, random assortment of survivors.

Detailed explanation-2: -Definition. A founder effect, as related to genetics, refers to the reduction in genomic variability that occurs when a small group of individuals becomes separated from a larger population.

Detailed explanation-3: -Natural Selection: Process by which the best adapted organisms survive and reproduce more often. These adaptations are passed onto the next generation. Natural Selection occurs when nature favors an organism. This happens when the strongest and “best fit” to survive are able to reproduce.

Detailed explanation-4: -Genetic drift can cause big losses of genetic variation for small populations. Population bottlenecks occur when a population’s size is reduced for at least one generation.

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