Genetic drift describes random, non-selective change to the allele frequencies of a population. It is one of the five forces that can cause evolutionary change and is more likely to occur in small populations. To test how population size affects change, try the Population Genetics Simulation.

 

This simulation examines what happens to a population that experiences a sudden decrease in population size following a drought. A worksheet is available for potential use with this activity (Google Doc version). See the genetic drift blog post for additional discussion of the activity. 

 

Click on the "Introduction" button to get more specific information about the simulation.

 

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