Genetic drift and Speciation How do new species form? Genetic drift and Speciation

Speciation A species is defined as a population or group that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. When some members stop interbreeding a change in the gene pool can occur. The formation of a new species is called speciation.

Bottleneck Effect If a population is reduced by a disease or a natural disaster…if the final population left has less genes than the original population…this is the bottleneck effect.

Founder Effect When a few individuals colonize a new habitat, they may have gene frequencies different than the original population.

Hardy-Weinberg Genetic Equilibrium – when the frequencies of genes in a gene pool are not changing. Remember 5 fingers

5 Fingers Pinky = No Small Population Ring = No Random Mating Middle = No Mutation Pointer = No Migration Thumb = Thumb up, Thumb Down for No natural selection