d) bottleneck events. When a population is small, there is a greater chance of a bottleneck event (a sudden reduction in population size due to natural disasters, disease, human intervention, etc.) occurring, which can drastically reduce the gene pool. This means there are fewer genetic variations and traits available in the population, which can lead to inbreeding and a lack of advantageous traits. In addition, there may be a limited number of suitable mates available, which further reduces genetic diversity.
