The only survivors of a colony on Venus are a man and a woman, who both happen to originally be from southern Ukraine. Their descendants will show the effect of ____.
A) genetic drift
B) punctuated equilibrium
C) excessive mutation
D) heterozygote advantage
E) frequency-dependent selection

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Genetic drift is a mechanism of evolution that refers to random changes in the frequencies of alleles (variations of a gene) within a small population. In this scenario, with only two individuals starting a new population, their genetic makeup will heavily influence the genetic diversity of their descendants. The limited gene pool can lead to significant fluctuations in allele frequencies purely by chance, which is characteristic of genetic drift.

The Only Survivors of a Colony on Venus Are a Man