Pepered Moth Lab
The Affects of the Environment on Evolution as seen through the Natural Selection of Post Industrial Revolution Moths
The purpose of the lab was to determine if the changes in population of light coloured moths and melonic moths post industrial revolution was a result of natural selection through the melonic moths ability to avoid predation because of a better fitness. In order to determine if the changes in population density were attributed to natural selection one would look for a increase in population for each subsequent generation for the moth that possess the selective advantage. Such as for the pre industrial simulation the light moth’s population increase because of its ability to avoid predation because of camouflage. The method needed to complete this investigation would be placing fifteen melonic and fifteen light coloured moths on a sheet of paper then having an individual act as the predator attempting to remove as many moths as possible over a quantized time. The simulation would have to be completed for three trials representing each generation then repeated again utilizing a different coloured paper, the papers used should be white, intermediate (cream) and black. Observations were made and the results were that the species of moth which possessed a selective advantage was in fact better suited for the environment therefore able to avoid predation and experience thriving numbers. These results were standard for the light paper and intermediate paper although the black paper did not follow suit as a result of the melonic moths not in fact being fully dark. The experiment demonstrates that natural selection can be attributed to the diminishing number of light coloured moths following the industrial revolution and H.B.D Kettlewells hypothesis is correct.
Introduction
In this investigation biologist H.B.D Kettlewell’s hypothesis pertaining to the environments effect on the evolution of the peppered moth of the 1800s was tested. In the
The purpose of the lab was to determine if the changes in population of light coloured moths and melonic moths post industrial revolution was a result of natural selection through the melonic moths ability to avoid predation because of a better fitness. In order to determine if the changes in population density were attributed to natural selection one would look for a increase in population for each subsequent generation for the moth that possess the selective advantage. Such as for the pre industrial simulation the light moth’s population increase because of its ability to avoid predation because of camouflage. The method needed to complete this investigation would be placing fifteen melonic and fifteen light coloured moths on a sheet of paper then having an individual act as the predator attempting to remove as many moths as possible over a quantized time. The simulation would have to be completed for three trials representing each generation then repeated again utilizing a different coloured paper, the papers used should be white, intermediate (cream) and black. Observations were made and the results were that the species of moth which possessed a selective advantage was in fact better suited for the environment therefore able to avoid predation and experience thriving numbers. These results were standard for the light paper and intermediate paper although the black paper did not follow suit as a result of the melonic moths not in fact being fully dark. The experiment demonstrates that natural selection can be attributed to the diminishing number of light coloured moths following the industrial revolution and H.B.D Kettlewells hypothesis is correct.
Introduction
In this investigation biologist H.B.D Kettlewell’s hypothesis pertaining to the environments effect on the evolution of the peppered moth of the 1800s was tested. In the
Cited: http://www.experiment-resources.com/industrial-melanism.html#ixzz10mU3lemR Richlefs, R. Ecology. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. (1990). Http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=gsh&AN=28147458&site=ehost-live http://www.iscid.org/encyclopedia/Selective_Advantage