Editing Gene pool (section)

== Description ==
A large gene pool indicates extensive [[genetic diversity]], which is associated with robust populations that can survive bouts of intense [[Selection (biology)|selection]]. Meanwhile, low [[genetic diversity]] (see [[inbreeding]] and [[population bottleneck]]s) can cause reduced [[fitness (biology)|biological fitness]] and an increased chance of [[extinction]], although as explained by [[genetic drift]] new genetic variants, that may cause an increase in the [[Physical fitness|fitness]] of organisms, are more likely to fix in the population if it is rather small.

When all individuals in a population are identical with regard to a particular [[phenotypic]] trait, the population is said to be 'monomorphic'. When the individuals show several variants of a particular trait they are said to be [[polymorphism (biology)|polymorphic]].