# Explain why the genetic diversity of a population of cheetahs is likely to be much lower than that of a population of leopards of a similar size.

> OCR A-Level Biology A (H420) — 6.6 Populations and sustainability · Explain · 4 marks

> Cheetahs are thought to have passed through a severe population bottleneck approximately 10,000 years ago, reducing the global population to a very small number of individuals. Leopard populations have remained comparatively large and stable throughout recent evolutionary history.

## Mark scheme (4 marks)

1. The bottleneck event drastically reduced the number of individuals in the cheetah population
2. Only a small, non-representative sample of alleles from the original population survived the bottleneck
3. The subsequent cheetah population expanded from this genetically restricted founder group, so lacks allelic variety
4. Leopard populations remained large, maintaining a wide range of alleles through continued random mating across a large gene pool

## Key terms

- [genetic diversity](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/glossary/genetic-diversity)

## Related

- [Revision notes for OCR A-Level Biology A (H420)](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/learn)
- [How to answer "Explain" questions](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/tools/command-word-cheatsheet)
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Source: [GradeNine](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/q/explain-why-the-genetic-diversity-of-649fe4c2) · Published by Druglandscape Ltd.