Question

Using the Ask A Biologist website: Peppered Moths ArticleLinks to an external site.

Annotate the text following ADI Annotations and type it below.

Give me 3 concepts that you would have underlined (Concepts you thought were important or useful for understanding the problem or solving the problem)
Give me 2 pieces of information from the text that you think might be helpful for answering the question "What caused the Peppered Moths to Adapt? Was this a forced change or simply evolution and natural selection?"
Give me 3 Unfamiliar Terms
Give me 2 questions and answers that you think a new student would ask when learning about the peppered moths for the first time.

Answers

GPT-4o mini
Certainly! Below is an annotation based on the structure you requested.

### 3 Concepts to Underline:
1. **Natural Selection** - This fundamental concept explains how certain traits become more common in a population due to advantages in survival and reproduction.
2. **Industrial Melanism** - This phenomenon describes the adaptation of species, like the peppered moth, in response to environmental changes, specifically pollution.
3. **Camouflage** - This concept highlights how the coloration of the moths plays a vital role in their survival from predators.

### 2 Pieces of Information About Adaptation Causes:
1. The text discusses how the industrial revolution led to increased pollution, which darkened tree barks. As a result, darker moths had better camouflage against predators, leading to their increased survival and reproduction.
2. The article explains that the change in the environment was not a deliberate alteration by the moths but rather a response to human activities, illustrating how natural selection operated in this context to cause the adaptation.

### 3 Unfamiliar Terms:
1. **Phenotype** - The observable characteristics or traits of an organism resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.
2. **Genotype** - The genetic constitution of an individual organism, which affects traits that are passed down through generations.
3. **Predation** - The act of one organism (the predator) hunting and consuming another organism (the prey), which is pivotal in understanding selective pressures.

### 2 Questions and Answers:
1. **Q:** Why did the color of the peppered moths change during the industrial revolution?
**A:** The color change occurred due to industrial melanism, which was a response to pollution that darkened tree barks. Darker moths had a survival advantage because they were less visible to predators against these darkened backgrounds.

2. **Q:** Is the change in the peppered moths a result of evolution?
**A:** Yes, the changes in the peppered moths can be attributed to evolution through natural selection, where the environmental changes caused by human activities led to a shift in which moths were more likely to survive and reproduce.

Feel free to ask if you need any more assistance or clarification!