Which of the following describes a random change in allele frequencies in a population?

Genetic drift is the phenomenon that describes random changes in allele frequencies within a population. This process occurs due to chance events that cause certain alleles to be more or less common in subsequent generations, especially in small populations where random fluctuations can have a significant impact.

For example, if a few individuals in a small population happen to die by random chance, and they happen to carry certain alleles, those alleles may become less frequent or even disappear entirely from the gene pool purely by luck rather than any selective advantage. This random alteration can lead to a loss of genetic diversity over time.

In contrast, natural selection involves differential survival and reproduction based on advantageous traits, inbreeding refers to mating between closely related individuals resulting in a decrease in genetic variation, and direct exploitation pertains to the human impact on population sizes through overharvesting or habitat destruction, none of which are inherently random changes in allele frequencies.