Adaptations may arise through genetic drift in small populations from "summary" of The Red Queen by Matt Ridley
In small populations, chance events can have a big impact. When a population is small, genetic drift can cause certain traits to become more common simply by luck. This is because in a small group, there are fewer individuals to pass on their genes, so random fluctuations can have a bigger effect. Imagine a small island where a few animals are stranded. If one of these animals happens to have a beneficial trait, such as a thicker fur coat for colder weather, that trait may become more common in the population over time, not because it is necessarily better, but simply because it was passed on by chance. This process of genetic drift can lead to adaptati...
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