What effect does a bottleneck event have on a population?

A bottleneck event refers to a sharp reduction in the size of a population due to environmental events, such as natural disasters, overhunting, or habitat loss. This significant decrease in population size results in a smaller gene pool, which means that the genetic diversity within the population becomes greatly reduced. With fewer individuals contributing genes to the next generation, certain alleles may become fixed while others are lost entirely. As a result, there is a potential loss of genetic variation, which can diminish the population's ability to adapt to changing environments and can increase the risk of extinction.

The concept of a smaller gene pool is critical because it emphasizes how bottleneck events can lead to long-term consequences for a population's survival and evolutionary potential. Hence, it is crucial for understanding population genetics and conservation biology.