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Today we discussed the processes that contribute to variation within a population and how small populations can be vulnerable to inbreeding, genetic swamping and genetic drift. You can find the definitions of these terms in the VAEE glossary, here: glossaryofterms. Genetic drift occurs when harmful alelles are retained in small populations over time, such as when animals are held in captivity. Genetic swamping is the process that occurs two genetically isolated populations come into contact and the genes from a larger population dominate over the genes in the small population, reducing the genetic diversity in the small population.