The founder effect is a phenomenon that occurs when a small group of individuals becomes isolated from a larger population. It is a type of genetic drift that results in the loss of genetic variation when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population. The smaller the population, the higher the chance that the small population does not represent the larger population. The founder effect can take place due to many different circumstances, such as geographic isolation or a mutation that causes a population of organisms to become reproductively isolated from the parent foundation. The resulting new subpopulation will have genotypes and physical traits resembling the initial small, separated group, and these may be very different from the original larger population. The founder effect can also explain why certain inherited diseases are found more frequently in some limited population groups.