About Lesson
- For instance, mutations disrupt the equilibrium of allele frequencies by introducing new alleles into a population.
- Similarly, natural selection and nonrandom mating disrupt the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium because they result in changes in gene frequencies.
- This occurs because certain alleles help or harm the reproductive success of the organisms that carry them.
- Another factor that can upset this equilibrium is genetic drift, which occurs when allele frequencies grow higher or lower by chance and typically takes place in small populations.
- Gene flow, which occurs when breeding between two populations transfers new alleles into a population, can also alter the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
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