Genetic Drift

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-012203",
  "term": "Genetic Drift",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. The random change of the occurrence of a particular gene in a population, genetic drift is thought to be one cause of speciation when a group of organisms is separated from its parent population. (NCI)\n\n2. Stochastic change in allele frequency due to random variations in the contributions of breeding adults to the next generation. Since one consequence of genetic drift is that one or more alleles will not be passed to the next generation, genetic drift results in a decrease in genetic diversity.\n\n3. Genetic drift is a mechanism of evolution. It refers to random fluctuations in the frequencies of alleles from generation to generation due to chance events. Genetic drift can cause traits to be dominant or disappear from a population. The effects of genetic drift are most pronounced in small populations.\n\n4. The change in allele frequency due to random variations in fecundity and mortality in a population (Ricklefs 1979:871).",
  "references": [
    "National Cancer Institute Thesaurus",
    "EPA Genetic Diversity as an Indicator of Ecosystem Condition and Sustainability Glossary at http://www.epa.gov/eerd/Glossary-%20Genetic%20Diversity.pdf",
    "National Human Genome Research Institute",
    "USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Glossary of Avian Terms For Use in Avian Conservation Biology"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/genetic-drift/"
}