Founder effect This term describes the establishment of a new population by one or a few individual(s), resulting in low levels of genetic variation and often a disproportionate number of alleles that are rate in the parent population. In human populations the high incidence of certain genetic diseases can be traced to founder effects Related topics Adaptation (B1) Rare species, habitat loss and extinction (V1)Related topics Adaptation (B1) Rare species, habitat loss and extinction (V1) Founder effect This term describes the establishment of a new population by one or a few individual(s), resulting in low levels of genetic variation and often a disproportionate number of alleles that are rate in the parent population. In human populations the high incidence of certain genetic diseases can be traced to founder effects