The peppered moth (Biston betularia) can have light or dark coloration. In England, prior to the industrial revolution, they inhabited the birch forests outside of the cities. Here their light coloration helped them blend in with the light colored birch tree trunks. During the industrial revolution, an increase in coal produced air pollution coated the light colored birch trees with soot. The light colored moths disappeared in favor of the dark colored moths.

Question

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) can have light or dark coloration. In England, prior to the industrial revolution, they inhabited the birch forests outside of the cities. Here their light coloration helped them blend in with the light colored birch tree trunks. During the  industrial revolution, an increase in coal produced air pollution coated the light colored birch trees with soot. The light colored moths disappeared in favor of the dark colored moths.

Hypothesize as to why the peppered moth population changed so drastically in this area.

(1 point)
Responses

The light colored moths were easily seen and eaten by predatory birds, but the darker moths avoided being eaten.
The light colored moths were easily seen and eaten by predatory birds, but the darker moths avoided being eaten.

​​​​​​The light colored moths were killed by the air pollution, but the dark colored moths were unharmed.

The light colored moths fed on certain plants that were destroyed by the air pollution. The dark colored moths fed on different plants.

​​​​​​The light colored moths migrated to a different forest because of the air pollution, but the dark moths were unaffected.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The most accurate hypothesis for the drastic change in the peppered moth population is:

The light colored moths were easily seen and eaten by predatory birds, but the darker moths avoided being eaten.

This explanation aligns with the concept of natural selection. As the birch trees became darker due to soot from industrial pollution, the light-colored moths became more visible to predators, while the dark-colored moths had better camouflage and were therefore less likely to be eaten. This resulted in a higher survival rate for the darker moths, leading to an increase in their population at the expense of the lighter moths.