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Natural selection
Appears in
Concepts tested here
- Industrial melanism 2
- Evolution by anthropogenic action
All Questions
2015 AIPMT-II 1 question
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Industrial melanism is an example of:
2009 AIPMT 1 question
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In the case of peppered moth ($Biston\ betularia$) the black-coloured form became dominant over the light-coloured form in England during industrial revolution. This is an example ofBefore industrialisation (1850), the tree trunks in England were covered with white lichens; white-winged moths were camouflaged on them and escaped predators, while dark-winged moths were picked out by birds.
After industrialisation (1920), smoke and soot killed the lichens and darkened the tree trunks. Now the white moths were conspicuous and were eaten, while the dark (melanic) moths were camouflaged and survived.
So the proportion of dark moths increased: the predators selected against the conspicuous form. Both forms already existed in the population; the colour was not acquired from the environment.
This is industrial melanism, an example of natural selection.
Hence it is natural selection whereby the darker forms were selected.
2005 AIPMT 1 question
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Which one of the following phenomena supports Darwin's concept of natural selection in organic evolution -According to Darwin, variations exist in every population; the individuals whose variations make them better fitted to the environment survive and reproduce more, so their traits increase in the population over generations.
When a pesticide is used, most insects are killed, but a few that happen to carry genes for resistance survive.
These resistant insects reproduce, and their offspring inherit the resistance. With continued use of the pesticide, the resistant forms become more and more common.
So the prevalence of pesticide resistant insects is a clear example of natural selection; resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is a similar example.
Cloning (Dolly), organ development from stem cells and transgenic animals are artificial techniques of biotechnology, not natural selection.
So the phenomenon that supports natural selection is the prevalence of pesticide resistant insects.
