Industrial melanism

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/industrial-melanism

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name of peppered moth?Biston betularia
2. What is the primary location of study?Industrial regions of Great Britain and Europe
3. Why did peppered moths turn dark during the Industrial Revolution?Pollution made tree bark dark and removed light lichens, so dark moths could blend in better and stay safe from birds.
4. How does soot change trees and help dark animals?Soot coats trees and kills lichens, making the bark darker. Dark-colored animals then match the dark background and are less visible.

Melanism: The occurrence of an increasedest of dark pigmentation in an animal.
Natural Selection: The differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype.
Phenotype: The set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.
Fitness (Biological): The ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment.