Question

Industrial melanism is an example of:

• A. Mutation
• B. Neo Lamarckism
• C. Natural selection
• D. Neo Darwinism

Answer 1

The correct option is C

Natural selection

The correct option is C.

Explanation for the correct answer:

1. Industrial melanism is an evolutionary effect in which dark pigmentation dominated an area affected by industrial pollution.
2. During the industrial revolution, soot blackened the barks of trees which made the light-colored moths more vulnerable to predation due to low camouflage.
3. A random recurring mutation in moths resulted in black moths as a result of natural selection.

Explanation for the incorrect options:

Option A:

1. A mutation is a sudden, stable, and inheritable change in the genetic material of an organism.
2. Industrial melanism is not an example of mutation.

Option B:

1. Neo Lamarckism states that the driving force for evolution is the environment.
2. Industrial melanism is not an example of Neo Lamarckism.

Option D:

1. Neo Darwinism states that speciation is mainly driven by the gathering of genotypic variations in a gene pool.
2. Industrial melanism is not an example of Neo Darwinism.

Final answer: Industrial melanism is an example of natural selection.