Over longer periods of time, genetic diversity spreads the population out over a larger area of genotype space, giving the population mutational access to a greater number of distinct heritable phenotypes that are reached from different points of the genetic neutral network.
Genetic diversity spreads the population out over a larger area of genotype space. This is over longer periods of time. Genetic diversity was giving the population mutational access to a greater number of distinct heritable phenotypes. This was over longer periods of time. This greater number of distinct heritable phenotypes are reached from different points of the genetic neutral network.