Mondo Knows Facts
Population bottlenecks cut genetic diversity
A sharp fall in numbers leaves survivors with a narrow gene pool Cheetahs carry unusually low genetic variation, consistent with a severe population crash in the distant past. When few individuals remain, rare alleles are lost at random and inbreeding becomes more likely. The loss can leave a species less able to resist disease or a changing climate. It sits in Mondo's science collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
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Tags: genetics, evolution, wildlife
Population bottlenecks cut genetic diversity: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- A sharp fall in numbers leaves survivors with a narrow gene pool. The figure is taken from Nature, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a science fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
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- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.