I can't believe it either. But it never stops. Either evolutionists know
there is no other widely believed "just so" story equivalent to or better
than the peppered moth story in explanatory value, or they are just plain
ignorant. Such evolutionists are taking a beating in my classes, and I
presume in the classes of other informed scientists. I cite from the
latest edition of the most popular college biology textbook, Solomon, Davis
and Martin "General Biology" 1999 edition, p. 9 and 10. This story serves
as the only cited evidence in the introductory chapter for their contention
that "Evolution is the primary unifying concept in Biology". If this were
not so sad it would truly be laughableHere is the text from p9 and 10 of
chapter 1:
Populations evolve as a result of selective pressures from changes in the
environment
All the genes present in a population make up its gene pool. By virtue of
its gene pool, a population is a reservoir of variation. Natural selection
acts on individuals within a population. Selection favors individuals with
genes that specify traits that enable them to cope effectively with
pressures exerted by the environment. These organisms are most likely to
survive and produce offspring. As these successful organisms pass on their
genetic recipe for survival, their traits become more widely distributed in
the population. Over time, as organisms continue to change (and as the
environment itself changes, bringing different selective pressures), the
members of the population become better adapted to their environment and
less like their ancestors.
An interesting case of evolution in action has been documented in
England since 1850. The tree trunks in a certain region of England were
once white because of a type of lichen that grew on them. (A lichen is a
compound organism usually consisting of an alga and fungus.) The common
peppered moth was beautifully adapted for resting on these white tree
trunks because its light color blended with the trunks and protected it
from predatory birds (Fig. 1-9). At that time black peppered moths were rare.
Then humans changed the environment. They built industries that
polluted the air with soot, killing the lichens and coloring the tree
trunks black. The light-colored moths became easy prey for the birds. The
black moths blended with the dark trunks and escaped the sharp eyes of
predators. In these new surroundings, the dark moths were better adapted
and were selected for survival. Eventually, more than 90% of the peppered
moths in the industrial areas of England were dark. This adaptation is
known as industrial melaninism. Interestingly, with efforts to control air
pollution, there has been an increase in the population of the
light-colored moths.
Adaptation of the peppered moth was studied in the 1950s by H. B. D.
Kettlewell of Oxford, who marked hundreds of male moths with a spot of
paint under their wings and then released them in both rural and industrial
areas. Observers reported that birds preyed on the moths that were more
visible. After a period of time, surviving moths were recaptured by
attracting them with light or females. Based on observation and on thc
percentage ofeach type of moth recaptured, these studies confirmed that
significantly more dark moths survived in industrial areas and more light
moths survived in rural areas.