How does inbreeding affect genetic diversity?

Inbreeding affects genetic diversity by reducing it, primarily through the increase of homozygosity in a population. When closely related individuals breed, the likelihood of offspring inheriting identical alleles from both parents rises, which leads to a greater proportion of homozygous individuals. This could eliminate heterozygous genotypes that may carry beneficial alleles, thereby decreasing the overall genetic variation within the population.

Reduced genetic diversity can have negative consequences, such as increased susceptibility to diseases and environmental changes, as a genetically uniform population may not have the adaptive potential that a genetically diverse one does. Therefore, option C accurately captures the detrimental impact of inbreeding on genetic diversity, as it highlights the mechanism—specifically, the shift towards homozygosity—that results in this reduction.