The **bottleneck effect** occurs when:
AFew individuals are isolated to start a new population
BMuch of a population is killed by natural disaster, leaving only a few to repopulate — gene pool is severely narrowed
CMutation rates rise sharply
DGenes flow between two species
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. Much of a population is killed by natural disaster, leaving only a few to repopulate — gene pool is severely narrowed
Bottleneck: sudden severe reduction of population (drought, disease, hunting). The survivors carry only a subset of original alleles ⇒ drastic loss of genetic diversity. Examples: cheetahs, northern elephant seals.
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