Well said. I'd like to take it a step further.
> IF both the large population, and the genetic drift
> population remain under the same environmental
> conditions, then the evolutionary pressure on both
> will still be the same.
> 
> So in a sense the environment gets the last word

All populations are "genetic drift populations", because they are
all finite
in numbers.  It is the amplitude of stochastic fluctuations in allele
frequencies that is negatively correlated with population size.  The extent
of the noise has a strong influence on the potential for a population to
respond to selection, regardless of the selection pressure exerted on the
population by the external environment.  "So in a sense the
environment" has
little potential to influence the evolution of small populations.

Guy >>


Could you explain that again - more slowly?
Thanks.
Tom
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