The Evolution of Melanism

rdf:langString The Evolution of Melanism

rdf:langString The Evolution of Melanism: a study of recurring necessity; with special reference to industrial melanism in the Lepidoptera is a 1973 science book by the lepidopterist Bernard Kettlewell. The book includes Kettlewell's original papers in the journal Heredity on his classic predation experiments on the peppered moth. It also covers Kettlewell's experiments in Shetland on other Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). The book is centered on the authors research of evolution of industrial melanism in peppered moths. It does not goes much in-depth about the evolution of melanism in other species as the title might suggest. The book introduces the reader with a 50-page long chapter about melanism. Then, the book goes in-depth about industrial melanism. Finally, the peppered moth Biston betularia is discussed in all its known details of that time. Knowledge of the genetics of the melanistic forms of the moths, the knowledge of the predation by birds and the knowledge of blackening of the environment in the English midlands is discussed and used for Kettlewell's most important experiments on natural selection. This is also the climax of the book, namely the details and outcomes of his own experiments on natural selection. Kettlewell also shows other cases, such as his experiments in the Shetland Islands with Lasiocampa quercus (‘Recessive melanic plymorphisms’) and Amanthes glareosa (‘Northern melanism’) (Kettlewell et al., 1969). However, these lack knowledge compared to the Biston experiments. Therefore, they are mostly seem as secondary importance. However, according to Carson (1974), “they play an important role in showing that manifold genetic melanisms can exist apart from those that have evolved as a genetic response to industrial pollution”. The conclusion of the book discusses several melanisms, such as polymorphism.