Bottleneck
What is a Bottleneck?
When some one says that a population or species went through a bottleneck, they mean that something happened that reduced them to very small numbers. The northern elephant seals went through a bottleneck when they were harvested to a mere 20-100 individuals. Cheetah also went through a bottleneck. This type of reduction can greatly influence a population or an entire species. Some species never recoupe from bottlenecks such as the cheetah, yet some such as the northern elephant seal are able to come back in greater number than before. Yet bottlenecks greatly reduce the genetic diversity of the species because they are all decendents from the same few individuals. Lacking genetic diversity can make this species vulerable to disease which can cause another great reduction or extinction.
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