If a population recovers to its original population size after experiencing a bottleneck, which statement is correct regarding this population?
A) The recovered population is as likely to go extinct as is the population prior to the bottleneck.
B) The bottleneck subjected the population to directional selection.
C) The recovered population shows less genetic diversity than the population prior to the bottleneck.
D) The recovered population shows more genetic diversity than the population prior to the bottleneck.
E) The recovered population is more likely to go extinct as is the population prior to the bottleneck. A bottleneck decreases a population's genetic diversity.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

During a bottleneck event, genetic diversity is reduced due to the loss of alleles from the gene pool. Even if the population recovers to its original size, it may have less genetic diversity than the original population. This is because some alleles may have been lost and become extinct during the bottleneck event. Therefore, statement C is correct. The other statements are incorrect because the recovered population is not necessarily more likely to go extinct, the bottleneck does not necessarily subject the population to directional selection, and the recovered population is not necessarily as likely to go extinct as the original population.

If a Population Recovers to Its Original Population Size After