Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 267, Issue 1456, Pages 1953-1957Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2000.1235
Keywords
industrial melanism; Biston betularia; carbonaria morph; natural selection; adaptation; evolution
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Populations of Biston betularia in the region of The Netherlands around Leiden and Rotterdam were resampled. A comparison of three sets of data for 1969-1973, 1988 and 1999 enabled a further examination of declines in melanism. Unlike parallel changes for the black carbonaria form of this species in urban regions of Britain, those in The Netherlands im involve substantial changes in frequencies of at least two of the intermediate insularia morphs as well as an increase in the non-melanic typica morph. The darkest of the three insularia morphs has shown a transitory pulse of increased frequency in The Netherlands. The dynamics are discussed in relation to the history of air pollution and to straightforward predictions about selection.
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