Question

Perhaps the best evidence ever documented of natural selection operating on a heritable trait concerns a type of moth, biston betularia, found in england. prior to the industrial revolution, these moths were –.

Answer 1

These moths are better known as the ‘peppered moth’. While the moth has a wide distribution, including parts of Asia, Europe and North America, it was the European population, more specifically, those in England, that provided demonstrated evidence of natural selection. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the population in England was dominated by a phenotype of light-coloured wings for camouflage against the light coloured trees and lichens in its environment. The pollution resulting from the Industrial Revolution resulted in the death of most lichen and trees being covered by a layer of dark soot. The light-coloured individuals within the moth population were then easier to spot by predators. The darker-coloured moths flourished as they were more camouflaged. These moths survived and reproduced, passing their trait to subsequent generations, and resulting in dark-coloured moths becoming dominant in the population.