The Dunkers are a religious group that moved from Germany to Pennsylvania in the mid-1700s. They do not marry with members outside their own immediate community. Today, the Dunkers are genetically unique and differ in gene frequencies, at many loci, from all other populations including those in their original homeland. Which of the following likely explains the genetic uniqueness of this population?
a. heterozygote advantage and stabilizing selection
b. population bottleneck and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
c. mutation and natural selection
d. founder effect and genetic drift
e. sexual selection and inbreeding depression
Answer: D