question_answer 58)

  You have studied the story of peppered moths in England. Had the industries been removed, what impact could it have on the moth population? Discuss.

Answer:

                  In the population of pepper moth two variants exist the dark and the light coloured. Before industrialization, the light coloured moths were prevalent because they blended well with the lichen covered bark of the trees. The predators were unable to spot them and hence, their populations were more in number. With industrialization, the barks got covered with soot. The growth of lichens reduced, the light coloured moths were thus, spotted by the predators and their number decreased. However, the black variants were camouflased better on soot covered barks and their number increased drastically. If the industries were removed, the population of black moths would have declined because as stated before, they would not be able to camouflage against a light background (no black soot). Also the growth of lichens would increase. Therefore, the dark variants would be spotted better by predators and be eaten more frequently.