2. Before industrialisation, in Great Britain, Biston betularia were more in number than Biston carbonaria. B. Betularia is greyish white while B.carbonaria is melanic form.
3. These nocturnal moths rest on tree trunk during day. White-winged moth can camouflage well with the lichen covered whitish barks of trees. They thus escaped the attention of the predatory birds. But at the same time melanic forms were visible due to white barks of the trees. Their number was thus reduced as they were preyed upon by birds.
4. Later there was an industrial revolution, which ultimately resulted in air pollution causing dark soot to settle on the barks of the trees. Lichens too were destroyed and the melanic forms were now at advantage. Melanic forms could camouflage with black tree trunks and their number increased. White-winged moth become clearly seen in changed colours of the trees and thus they were easily caught by predatory birds. This caused decrease in their number.
5. Natural selection thus acted in changed environmental conditions and helped in the establishment of a phenotypic traits. The changed traits were more adaptive and hence were selected. Natural selection encourages those genes or traits that assure highest degree of adaptive efficiency between population and its environment.
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