Definition of Bottleneck Effect



When there comes a disaster, the ecosystem undergoes major changes and there is a drastic decrease in the population which can cause a certain type of genetic drift. This genetic drift is termed as bottleneck effect. This disaster may be a natural one or can be caused by excessive human activities. The examples of natural disasters include earthquake and volcanic eruption whereas deforestation, hunting and pollution are caused by human interference.

 


When a large number of members belonging to a population abruptly die, the genetic variation goes down and hence the allele frequency changes. This significant and sudden reduction in the population leads to bottleneck effect.

 


Bottle Neck Effect

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