When a Population Goes Through a Bottleneck,____

Question

When a population goes through a bottleneck,____.  
A) genetic drift is likely to occur
B) mutation rates increase
C) extinction rates decrease
D) natural selection decreases in intensity
E) inbreeding decreases

Accepted Answer

When a population goes through a bottleneck, the number of individuals drastically decreases, and this can cause genetic drift. Genetic drift refers to random fluctuations in gene frequencies due to chance events, and it can have a significant impact on the genetic makeup of a population. With fewer individuals, there is less genetic variation, and so the effects of genetic drift can be more pronounced.