A population impacted by random changes in allele frequencies due to chance is particularly influenced by what factor?

In the context of genetics and population dynamics, the correct factor particularly influencing a population impacted by random changes in allele frequencies due to chance is population size. Small populations are more susceptible to genetic drift, which is the random fluctuation of allele frequencies. This randomness can lead to significant evolutionary changes over time, especially when the population is small.

In smaller populations, chance events can have a much larger impact on the overall gene pool because each individual's contribution to the next generation is proportionally greater. For instance, if a few individuals fail to reproduce due to random events, their alleles may be disproportionately lost from the population. In contrast, larger populations can buffer against these random changes because the allele frequencies tend to stabilize over time; the larger the population, the more diverse gene pool it maintains, making it less prone to drastic shifts due to chance alone.

Other factors mentioned, such as genetic diversity, selection pressure, and environmental changes, while they do influence populations, do not specifically relate to the randomness of allele frequency shifts in the same way that population size does. Genetic diversity pertains more to the variety of genes within the population, selection pressure refers to the environmental factors that favor certain traits over others, and environmental changes can affect populations but are more related to adaptive