Changes in DNA are known as mutations and can be sometimes produce beneficial changes in population. A mutant form of the normally light-colored peppered moth is dark-colored. The dark-colored moth blends in with soot-covered trees in heavily polluted areas.Why would the dark-colored mutation be beneficial in a polluted area?

The dark colored moths are beneficial in a polluted area because they have a lesser chance of being eaten since they blend into the trees polluted with soot.

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luisvaschetto luisvaschetto · Answer 2 · 2021-11-04T10:12:24-04:00

The dark-colored mutation could be beneficial in a polluted area because this phenotype may confer an adaptive advantage.

A mutation is any alteration in the nucleotide DNA sequence (genome) of an organism.

Mutation can be beneficial, deleterious, or neutral depending on the environmental conditions in which the individual lives.

In this case, the dark-colored mutation could be beneficial for an insect living in a polluted area because bright-colored phenotypes make the moth very conspicuous to visual predators.

In consequence, dark-colored insects have more chances to survive and reproduce (i.e., they have an adaptive advantage), thereby these insects have more chances of passing this mutation to the next generation.

In conclusion, the dark-colored mutation could be beneficial in a polluted area because this phenotype may confer an adaptive advantage.

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