Chapter 12, Problem 1TQ

Summary Introduction

The evolution is the alteration in the heritable features of the biological population over a successive generation. The evolution on a small scale (microevolution) is referring to the alteration in allele frequencies within a population. The allele frequencies may alter due to the four fundamental forces of evolution, namely mutations, natural selection, genetic drift and gene flow.

Answer to Problem 1TQ

The founder effect is a type of genetic drift in which individuals in one small group of a large population establish a new distant population and then reproduce.

Explanation of Solution

The founder effect is a special type of genetic drift. It occurs when a small group present in the population splinters off from the original population and establish a new one. Thus, the founder effect takes place when some individuals of large population form a new distant population at diverse place and reproduce. The genetic drift is the variation in the frequency of an existing gene variant found in a population due to random sampling of an organism.