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Industrial melanism in the peppered moth was an early test of Charles Darwin's natural selection in action, and it remains a classic example in the teaching of evolution. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] In 1978, Sewall Wright described it as "the clearest case in which a conspicuous evolutionary process has actually been observed."
The peppered moth (Biston betularia) is a temperate species of night-flying moth. [1] It is mostly found in the northern hemisphere in places like Asia, Europe and North America. Peppered moth evolution is an example of population genetics and natural selection. [2] The caterpillars of the peppered moth not only mimic the form but also the ...
For example, J.B.S. Haldane estimated in 1924 the rate of evolution by natural selection in the peppered moth in his first series of A Mathematical Theory of Natural and Artificial Selection. He estimated that for the peppered moth having reproductive cycle in a year, it would take 48 generations to produce the dominant (melanic or black) forms ...
Between 1953 and 1956, the geneticist Bernard Kettlewell experimented on peppered moth evolution. He presented results showing that in a polluted urban wood with dark tree trunks, dark moths survived better than pale ones, causing industrial melanism, whereas
Henry Bernard Davis Kettlewell (24 February 1907 – 11 May 1979) [1] was a British geneticist, lepidopterist and medical doctor, who performed research on the influence of industrial melanism on peppered moth (Biston betularia) coloration, showing why moths are darker in polluted areas.
Peppered moth with dark phenotype that was positively selected for during the Industrial Revolution. Peppered Moth with white phenotype that was negatively selected for during the Industrial Revolution. A significant example of directional selection in populations is the fluctuations of light and dark phenotypes in peppered moths in the 1800s. [16]
The experiments with the peppered moths, as described in this book, are arguably the most dramatic and best known case of adaptive evolution.For many people at that time, this was the first evidence that they could see evolution taking place in the world around them, and could see how fast evolution can go since Darwin came up with the hypothesis (Kettlewell, 1959).
The legacy of Majerus was largely built on his fervent defence and experimental works on the peppered moth evolution. [26] The concept of industrial melanism in Biston betularia had been a primary example of Darwinian natural selection in action.