Cheetahs Exhibit Significant Inbreeding and Loss of Heterozygosity Due to Overhunting

Multiple Choice

Cheetahs exhibit significant inbreeding and loss of heterozygosity due to overhunting and loss of habitat experienced at some point in their evolutionary history. Which genetic mechanism occurs when a large population is substantially reduced at random, acting independently of natural selection?

A) founder effect
B) Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium
C) gene flow
D) mutation
E) bottleneck effect