What characterizes a population experiencing a bottleneck effect?

A population experiencing a bottleneck effect is characterized primarily by a significant reduction in its size, often due to an event that drastically decreases the number of individuals. This large portion of the population being removed results in a loss of genetic diversity. When a large segment of the population is eliminated, the genetic variability of the surviving individuals tends to be lower than that of the original population.

Consequently, this genetic "bottleneck" can lead to an increased likelihood of inbreeding and a decreased ability of the population to adapt to environmental changes or withstand diseases. The limited genetic diversity can have profound implications for the population's long-term survival and evolutionary potential. Thus, a bottleneck effect significantly alters the genetic structure of the population due to the drastic reduction in size, making this understanding essential in the study of evolution and conservation biology.