Question

henry was studying two populations of the same species of lizards. one population lived on an island and the other lived on the mainland. both populations were affected by a hurricane that hit the island and the mainland with equal force. a year later, henry was testing the gene frequency and saw a decrease in genetic variation in the island species, but not in the mainland species. which best describes a conclusion he might have reached?
gene flow greatly affects small populations, but large populations can recover.
genetic drift greatly affects small populations, but large populations can recover.
gene flow greatly affects large populations, but small populations can recover
genetic drift greatly affects large populations, but small populations can recover.

Explanation:

Genetic drift (random changes in allele frequencies) has a stronger effect on small populations. Island populations are typically smaller than mainland ones. A hurricane reduced genetic variation in the small island population (due to drift from population bottleneck) but not the larger mainland population, which is more resilient to drift.

Answer:

Genetic drift greatly affects small populations, but large populations can recover.