Data and Analysis

Read the background information and answer the questions as you go.

Life Cycle of the Peppered Moth

1. Why are these moths called "peppered moths?" since they normally have
black and white speckles across their wings

2. What animals eat the peppered moth? Birds, flycatchers, nuthatches

3. What is a lichen? Small fungi that grows on rocks and walls

4. What do the larvae of the moth eat? Leaves of birch, willow & oak trees

5. How do peppered moths spend the winter? It pupates in the soil/ become
pupae

6. Moths that have more dark spots than the average moth are called what?
Insularia

Impact of Pollution
7. Where was the first black form of the moth found? Near the center of
Manchester

8. What was the Industrial Revolution? Its the time when factories were being
built which ran by running coal for fuel

9. What was causing the different colors in the moths? Genetic mutation in the
DNA in a particular moth

10. What is natural selection? When one type of species has reproductive
advantages due to the environment factors

11. Who suggested that peppered moths were an example of natural

selection? J.W.Tutt

12. What is industrial melanism? Process which species become darker by

time due to the pollution
Kettlewell's Experiments
13. What is an entomologist? Scientist who studies insects

14. How do scientists test theories?

1. make predictions based on theory

2. test to see if their observation matches their expectations

15. Write down ONE of Kettlewell's predictions.

- heavily polluted forests will have mostly dark peppered moths

16. Dark moths were found in what parts of the country?

Near industrial cities which produced pollution

17. How did Kettlewell directly study the moths? He placed light & dark moths
on the trunks of trees where he could see them and record the times a bird to
found the moth

18. Why did dark moths have a survival advantage? Since the tree trunks in
dark forest are dark, therefore, its easier for birds to notice moths with light
color which totally stands out

19. When Kettlewell recaptured the marked moths, what did he find? There
were twice as many light moths in the clean forest than dark moths and vice
versa in polluted forest

20. Where did Kettlewell publish his findings? Scientific American

Birdseye View
21. Open the simulation and play the role of the bird in both the dark and the
light forest. Try to behave as a bird would behave, choosing the moths that
are the most obvious. At the end of each simulation, record the percent of
moths captured in the table below.

Percent dark moths Percent light moths

Light forest 24 76

Dark forest 61 39

Final Analysis
22. Explain how the color of the moths increases or decreases their chances
of survival.

It depends on the environment which the moths live in, whether its dark or
light. In light environment, dark moths are less likely to survive because they
are easier to noticed by the predators and vice versa.

23. Explain the concept of "natural selection" using your moths as an

example.

At first we have the same species of peppered moth but in 2 different colors:
black and white existed in the same amount. In dark forest, predators would
find it easier to spot the lighter ones which means that the dark black moths
have more chance to survive and potentially fitness if they breed. Dark moths
will pass down their DNA to their offspring. Over certain amount of time, we
can see that there will be higher percentage of dark moths than the white
ones in the dark forest.

24. What would happen if there were no predators in the forest? Would the
colors of the moths change over time? Defend your answer?

Yes, the colors of the moths still can change over time since there could be
allele with recessive genes in some moths so mutation and cross- over can
occur to increase the variety of the species. However, mutation and variety
are random so there may be a chance that they dont have any effect on the a
particular type of moths fitness.
Good work Vy. You seem to understand the main concepts and have backed
up your arguments in the final questions well. 9/10