If its due to drift is it therefore natural selection?
As far as I know, genetic drift is not selective. As far as I know, genetic drift is a change in allele frequencies as a result of the randomizing effect of sexual reproduction. The effect on the gene pool is generally less than selection, but in the absence of a selection pressure, sometimes genetic drift alone is enough to cause speciation between two isolated populations.
Oh, wait. I see what you're asking. Yeah, I wasn't referring to genetic drift per se, but rather, the accumulation of genetic differences between gene pools, whatever the cause.
This message has been edited by crashfrog, 06-26-2004 02:51 AM