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Gene Flow

6 April, 2016 - 17:26

Another important evolutionary force is gene flow, or the flow of alleles in and out of a population resulting from the migration of individuals or gametes (Figure 11.9). While some populations are fairly stable, others experience more flux. Many plants, for example, send their seeds far and wide, by wind or in the guts of animals; these seeds may introduce alleles common in the source population to a new population in which they are rare.

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Figure 11.9 Gene flow can occur when an individual travels from one geographic location to another and joins a different population of the species. In the example shown here, the brown allele is introduced into the green population.