Question

multiple - choice question
genetic drift ______ variation.

increases
decreases
rewatch

Explanation:

Genetic drift is a mechanism of evolution that causes random changes in allele frequencies. In small populations, genetic drift can lead to the loss of alleles, which reduces genetic variation. For example, if a small group of individuals becomes isolated (like a founder event), the allele frequencies in this new group may be different from the original population, and over time, some alleles may be lost entirely. This loss of alleles directly decreases genetic variation.

Answer:

decreases