What does the bottleneck effect lead to?

The bottleneck effect leads to a loss of genetic variation because it refers to a sharp reduction in the size of a population due to environmental events or other pressures. When a population experiences such a significant decrease in numbers, the remaining individuals may not represent the genetic diversity of the original population.

This reduced genetic diversity hampers the ability of the population to adapt to new environmental challenges and can increase inbreeding, which further diminishes genetic variation. The consequence is that certain alleles may be lost entirely, and the overall genetic health of the population is compromised, making it less resilient to changes in the environment.

The other options do not accurately reflect the consequences of the bottleneck effect. Increased genetic diversity (the first option) is the opposite of what occurs, as a bottleneck reduces the gene pool. Stabilization of traits suggests a balancing effect on diversity, which doesn't happen during such a drastic event; instead, diversity is lost. Enhanced mutation rates are not directly associated with the bottleneck effect, as mutation rates are generally influenced by other factors.