CAIE A Level Biology 9700 · Classification, biodiversity and conservation
Two populations of small mammals, Population X and Population Y, are found in neighbouring valleys. They are very similar in appearance (same fur colour, body size and skeletal proportions). However, when individuals from the two populations are brought together in a laboratory, no mating occurs. If mating is artificially induced, the offspring are infertile. Compare how the biological, morphological and ecological species concepts would classify these two populations.
5 marks, so the mark scheme is looking for about 5 separate creditworthy points. Making the same point twice in different words earns it once.
Compare means: Give similarities or differences between two things, and say which side each point belongs to. Write each point as a pair, for example: A is X, whereas B is Y. Two separate descriptions rarely earn the marks.
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