Question

The black-coloured peppered moth form became dominant over the light-coloured form of moth in England during industrial revolution. This is an example of

• A. appearance of the darker-coloured individuals due to very poor sunlight
• B. natural selection whereby the darker forms were selected
• C. inheritance of darker colour character acquired due to the darker environment
• D. all the above

Answer 1

The correct option is B natural selection whereby the darker forms were selected

The black-coloured peppered moth form became dominant over the light-coloured form of moth in England during industrial revolution. This is an example of natural selection whereby the darker forms were selected. The peppered moths exist into two strains-light (white) coloured and melanic (black). Before industrialisation, light-coloured moths remain unnoticed by predatory birds due to whitish lichens on the bark of trees. After industrialisation, the barks became dark due to smoke so the white moths were more evidently visible and thus, picked up by predators. But, black moths escaped unnoticed so they managed to survive resulting in more population of black moths and less population of white moths.