Subject:
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Re: evolution (was Re: Mormon bashing again)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Mon, 6 Mar 2000 03:02:27 GMT
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Viewed:
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869 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Christopher L. Weeks writes:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Aaron Hines writes:
>
> I remember the example of a white moth that lives on beech
> > trees. It blends in with the bark. There was a fire (in England I believe)
> > that blackened the trunks of a large section of forest...and the moths became
> > black to hide themselves.
>
> I thought that was as a result of a coal-burning power plant opening in the
> area. And soot deposited on the trees.
Right. But that's not the whole story.
IIRC, the moth population had 5% dark moths, who were eaten quickly because of
the white beech tree (ie, they had no camouflage). The black color, was, I
think, a mutation (or perhaps a recessive gene? I don't remember).
During the Industrial rev., all the power plants and factories released lots
of soot, and many trees had blackened trunks. The dark moths were now hidden,
while the white ones were eaten by birds (as Chris mentioned). The black moths
breeded with each other, and became the majority of the population.
Well, after the British became enviromentally aware, they started to reduce
the pollution. The beeches turned white again. Whaddaya know - the moths adapt
again and the moth population is very quickly (they have a short life span)
white again.
> And for the record, no white moths
> became black. It's just that the white ones were eaten by birds and the
> population grew darker.
Yep.
-Shiri
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: evolution (was Re: Mormon bashing again)
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| (...) <snipped a bunch> Shiri's description is very good, I'll elaborate on a few points. The moth in question is the Peppered Moth(_Biston betularia_). Before the industrial revolution, the predominant form seen in the woods of England was white (...) (25 years ago, 6-Mar-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | evolution (was Re: Mormon bashing again)
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| In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Aaron Hines writes: I remember the example of a white moth that lives on beech (...) I thought that was as a result of a coal-burning power plant opening in the area. And soot deposited on the trees. And for the record, (...) (25 years ago, 6-Mar-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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