Explain the concept of Natural Selection with the example of Industrial Melanism​

Answers 1

Answer:

Industrial melanism is a phenomenon used to describe the evolutionary process in which an initially light-colored organism’s population becomes dark as a result of natural selection. Industrial melanism affected more than 70 species of moths in England. It has been studied in the peppered moth, Biston betularia. This species exists in two color forms, light and dark; the light form is homozygous for a recessive allele c, and the dark form carries a dominant allele, C. prior to 1800, dark forms (called carbonaria) were rare. From 1850 onward, the population of the dark form increased in certain areas.

Explanation:

In the course of the industrial revolution, soot and other industrial wastes darkened tree trunks and killed off lichens. Because light-colored peppered moths depend on camouflage to avoid predation, this unexpected change in their environment made them highly susceptible to predators. In the course of time, the light forms became rare due to a decrease in survival fitness. On the other hand, darkened tree trunks enhanced the survival fitness of the dark forms from their predators and the dark-colored moth became abundant. The reason for this change was thought to be selective predation by birds. By 1886, dark forms were far more common- illustrating rapid evolutionary change.

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