The founder effect is a dramatic decrease in
genetic diversity caused through the formation of a small colony of individuals which remains isolated. The founder effect contributes to
genetic drift, which causes certain genetic traits to vanish or become more abundant. Several human populations provide interesting sources of study for geneticists interested in the founder effect, as do numerous animal populations.
This concept was first widely discussed in 1952, when Ernst Mayr built on earlier theoretical work by others to come up with the idea of the founder effect. Mayr showed how small isolated populations can start to diverge from their larger parent populations, sometimes ultimately yielding a unique species. Since then, others have built on his work dramatically, performing long term studies of isolated communities and using advanced tools to analyze the genomes of organisms in these populations.
In a classic example of the founder effect, a small group splits off from a larger population, much as the Amish did during the Reformation. When a small group remains endogamous, meaning that people marry within the community, it can create a situation in which genetic diversity is extremely limited, because no new members are welcomed into the community. The founder effect is common among isolated religious communities and island populations, both of whom tend to be cut off from the larger population.
