The reason for the survival of the melanised moth, during the post-industrialization period in England was:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The melanised moth camouflage with the tree trunks that became dark due to the deposition of industrial smoke and soot so that melanised moth remain unnoticed by predators.
After industrialisation, pollution caused tree trunks to become darker and light-coloured backgrounds disappeared. Dark-coloured moths blended with this new background and were less visible to birds, while white moths were easily spotted and eaten. Because of this advantage of camouflage, the melanised moths survived and increased in number.
Option (4) – Incomplete/Not the best answer: This option mentions natural selection, which is true as a general concept, but it does not state the actual mechanism by which survival happened.