Unavoidable
Time and chance happen to all
Wright, genetic drift.
Genetic drift is one of the primary mechanisms of evolution. It is the change in allele frequencies in a population between generations due to the sampling of individuals that become parents and the random binomial sampling of alleles during meiosis. The theory of genetic drift was primarily developed by Sewall Wright.
Genetic drift causes the loss of genetic variation, and it is more pronounced in small and isolated populations. The ongoing human-caused loss of habitat has brought about the loss of genetic variation in many species throughout the world via genetic drift.
Original research:
Wright, S. 1931. Evolution in Mendelian populations. Genetics 16:97-159. http://www.genetics.org/cgi/reprint/16/2/97
Fred W. Allendorf is Regents Professor of Biology Emeritus at the University of Montana. His primary scientific interest is the application of population genetics to conservation biology. He is senior author of the book Conservation and the Genetics of Populations.
Enjoyed this sciku? Check out Fred’s other sciku: Inbreeding Depression, Gene Flow, and Adaptation.