In the context of genetic drift, what does the term "Founders Effect" refer to?

The term "Founders Effect" refers to the phenomenon that occurs when a small group of individuals separates from a larger population to establish a new population. In this context, the genetic makeup of the new population is heavily influenced by the genetic characteristics of the founders—those initial individuals. As a result, the new population may exhibit reduced genetic diversity compared to the source population because it is based on a limited number of alleles present in the founders. This can lead to certain alleles becoming more common or even fixed within the new population simply due to chance, rather than through natural selection.

The Founders Effect highlights an important aspect of genetic drift, which is the random change in allele frequencies in a population. When a small number of individuals start a new population, their genetic composition directly influences the genetic diversity and evolutionary trajectory of that new population. This effect can be observed in cases where populations are established on islands or in isolated environments, where the initial group of colonizers may not represent the genetic diversity of the larger population from which they originated.

In contrast, the other options describe different biological phenomena that do not specifically encapsulate the concept of the Founders Effect.