http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_moth_evolution
Environmental Changes
Environmental Changes
Before the Industrial
Revolution, the peppered moth was mostly found in a light grey form
with little black speckled spots. The light-bodied moths were able to blend in
with the light-coloured lichens and tree bark, and the less common black moth
was more likely to be eaten by birds. As a result of the common light-coloured
lichens and English trees, therefore, the light-coloured moths were much more
effective at hiding from predators, and the frequency of the dark allele was
about 0.01%.
During
the early decades of the Industrial Revolution in England, the countryside
between London and Manchester was blanketed with soot from the new coal-burning factories.
Many of the light-bodied lichens died from sulphur dioxide emissions, and the trees became
covered with soot. This led to an increase in bird predation for light-coloured
moths, as they no longer blended in as well in their polluted ecosystem:
indeed, their bodies now dramatically contrasted with the colour of the bark.
Dark-coloured moths, on the other hand, were camouflaged very
well by the blackened trees.
Although
a majority of light-coloured moths initially continued to be produced, most of
them didn't survive, while the dark-coloured moths flourished. As a result,
over the course of many generations of moths, the allele frequency gradually
shifted towards the dominant allele, as more and more dark-bodied moths
survived to reproduce.
Typica and carbonaria morphs resting on the same tree. The light-colored typica (below the bark's scar) is nearly invisible on this pollution-free tree, camouflaging it from predators.
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