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Bottleneck Event

Name: Brenden Chapman

Go to the Genetic Drift-Bottleneck Event Simulation on Biology Simulations.

1. Run through the simulation once. Describe what happened.

There was a drought and a bunch of things died and then the post drought population was less diverse

2. In the simulation, only 4 organisms survive the drought. What combinations of colors will result
in a final population that doesn’t change (the blue and red alleles are still the same)?

All purple

3. Run the simulation four times and record the post-drought frequencies in the table.

Trial 1 2 3 4 Average

Blue Allele .375 .375 .5 .375 .40625

Red Allele .5 .5 .5 .5 .5

Blue Phenotype .06 .14 .14 .25 .1475

Purple Phenotype .38 .47 .47 .5 .455

Red Phenotype .25 .25 .25 .25 .25

4. Describe your results.

The red phenotype and red allele stayed the same in all 4, whereas the rest of the alleles and
phenotypes changed but had a couple of repeats
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5. Describe how endangered species are impacted by the bottleneck event. Research a specific
example of genetic diversity in endangered species.
Bottleneck Events Inbreeding reduces the size of the gene pool, which can lead to problems
such as decreased genetic variability and the persistence of potentially harmful mutations,
making it harder for the remaining population to adapt to changes in their environment.

“Cheetahs face extinction pressure from climate change, hunting by humans, and habitat
destruction, which is reducing the size of their populations. Cheetahs' own genes also pose a
challenge to their continued survival. Cheetahs have a low rate of reproductive success,
meaning that as a species they are not always able to reproduce. With fewer offspring, the
population can neither grow nor adapt to changes in the environment.” (National Geographic)