Population bottleneck

A population bottleneck (or genetic bottleneck) is an evolutionary event in which a significant percentage of a population or species is killed or otherwise prevented from reproducing, and the population is reduced by 50% or more, often by several orders of magnitude. A graph of this change resembles the neck of a bottle, from wide to narrow; hence the name.

Related Topics:
Evolution - Orders of magnitude - Graph - Bottle

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Population bottlenecks increase genetic drift, as the rate of drift is inversely proportional to the population size. It also changes the relationship of natural selection (see: inbreeding).

Related Topics:
Genetic drift - Natural selection - Inbreeding

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