Causes of Changes in Allele Frequencies

Rucete ✏ Biology In a Nutshell

1. Natural Selection

  • Favors individuals with advantageous traits, increasing their reproductive success.
  • Alleles that enhance survival and reproduction increase in frequency over time.
  • Drives adaptive evolution.

2. Mutation

  • Introduces new alleles into a population’s gene pool.
  • Although rare, mutations are the ultimate source of genetic variation.
  • Can be beneficial, harmful, or neutral.

3. Gene Flow

  • Movement of alleles into or out of a population due to migration.
  • Increases genetic variation by introducing new alleles.
  • Can reduce differences between populations.

4. Genetic Drift

  • Random change in allele frequencies due to chance events.
  • Strongest in small populations.
  • Can lead to loss of genetic variation and fixation of harmful alleles.

5. Nonrandom Mating

  • Occurs when individuals select mates based on specific traits.
  • Includes inbreeding or assortative mating.
  • Can alter genotype frequencies and increase homozygosity.

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