The Founder Effect

The Founder Effect, on the other hand, occurs when a part of a population moves to a new region. This new colony, which was formed from the original population, might include a reduced genetic variation from the original population. Additionally, this new colony might consist of a non-random sample of genes from the original population. A prime example displaying the Founder Effect can be seen in the finches of the Galapagos islands. The various species of finches which live on these islands resemble a mainland finch. It is very likely that the modifications and differences which exist among each finch species are caused by the fact that storms originally carried the finches away from the coastline. As a result of the rather small populations of finches on each island, particular populations had certain alleles from the parent population. As time progressed, the genetic differences between the finch populations varied to a greater extent.