Class 12 Zoology simulations · Evolution

Genetic drift in small populations

Let allele frequencies change by chance alone in populations of different sizes. Small populations drift fastest.

Open the simulation

What to notice

In small populations an allele can be lost or fixed purely by chance (also seen in the founder effect).

Key relation

Each generation: 2N alleles drawn at random from the previous generation

Try this

Compare N = 10 with N = 500 over 100 generations.

What you can change

• Population size N: 5 to 500
• Generations: 1 to 100
• Run number: 1 to 20

More in Evolution

• Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and selection
• Natural selection on a trait

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