Hi Zone, I always wondered myself why the Pepper Moth was so frequently sighted as an example of evolution. So I read the article you linked to and now I understand. It turns out that the dark pepper moths were unknown until 1811. Their rise in the population was gradual and brought on by natural selection.
“Although a majority of light-coloured moths initially continued to be produced, most of them didn't survive, while the dark-coloured moths flourished. As a result, over the course of many generations of moths, the allele frequency gradually shifted towards the dominant allele, as more and more dark-bodied moths survived to reproduce. By the mid-19th century, the number of dark-coloured moths had risen noticeably, and by 1895, the percentage of dark-coloured moths in the Manchester peppered moth population was reported at 98%, a dramatic change (by almost 1000%) from the original frequency.”
Note also that “Evolution is defined as "a change in the frequency of an allele within a gene pool"”. So by definition, this is evolution at work. According to the article a single moth with the darker morph had be found in 1811, but not till 1848 did a second individual turn up; this one in Manchester. By 1895 the darker variety had increased in the Manchester region to represent 98% of the population. This dramatic shift in the allele population is a prime example of natural selection at work and natural selection is the backbone of evolution.
Your error is in thinking that only the rise of a new species heralds evolution. Micro-evolution, which you accept, and macro-evolution are different sides of the same coin. It is through micro-evolution that macro-evolution occurs.
“Although a majority of light-coloured moths initially continued to be produced, most of them didn't survive, while the dark-coloured moths flourished. As a result, over the course of many generations of moths, the allele frequency gradually shifted towards the dominant allele, as more and more dark-bodied moths survived to reproduce. By the mid-19th century, the number of dark-coloured moths had risen noticeably, and by 1895, the percentage of dark-coloured moths in the Manchester peppered moth population was reported at 98%, a dramatic change (by almost 1000%) from the original frequency.”
Note also that “Evolution is defined as "a change in the frequency of an allele within a gene pool"”. So by definition, this is evolution at work. According to the article a single moth with the darker morph had be found in 1811, but not till 1848 did a second individual turn up; this one in Manchester. By 1895 the darker variety had increased in the Manchester region to represent 98% of the population. This dramatic shift in the allele population is a prime example of natural selection at work and natural selection is the backbone of evolution.
Your error is in thinking that only the rise of a new species heralds evolution. Micro-evolution, which you accept, and macro-evolution are different sides of the same coin. It is through micro-evolution that macro-evolution occurs.
"After laboring on it for many years, Kettlewell finally published his magnum opus, The Evolution of Melanism, in 1973, but the reviews were lukewarm. Furthermore, Stephen Jay Gould, who would soon become the chief antagonist of the British neo-Darwinists of the rising generation (most notably Maynard Smith and Richard Dawkins, as well as the followers of Dr. Ford), had just published his first influential paper in 1965. His Harvard colleague, Richard Lewontin (who was, like Gould, a Marxist), published a book in 1974 which would "portray the Oxford School crowd as silly toffs with butterfly nets" (Hooper, op. cit., p. 216). Even in England, younger scientists were finding they could not replicate Kettlewell's field results, and were raising questions as to why.
Since his death, many researchers have been raising doubts about various aspects of his research, and even those of his boss, E. B. Ford. One of the main questioners has been Ted Sargent, emeritus professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts, who insists that the famous photographs of moths on tree trunks published by Kettlewell were all fakes.
Sargent's first paper expressing these doubts was published in 1976, but few seemed to notice. Eventually, however, many others also began finding flaws in Kettlewell's work. In the process, some of these critics have been accused of "giving aid and comfort to the enemy, the creationists" (Hooper, p. 286). We cannot discuss all these criticisms here, but the conclusion was, as Hooper says: ". . . at its core lay flawed science, dubious methodology, and wishful thinking" (p. xx). Some went so far as to accuse Ford and Kettlewell of actual fraud, but most thought it was just poor science. Cambridge lepidopterist, Michael Majerus, in his book, Melanism: Evolution in Action "left no doubt that the classic story was wrong in almost every detail" (Hooper, p. 283). Yet, amazingly, he still believed the basic story of the shift in coloration of the peppered moth as caused by bird predation and natural selection.
Evolutionists and the Moth Myth
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click below for a laugh
Journal of Evolutionary Biology Confirms Jonathan Wells (by Name) on Peppered Moth Myth - See more at: <em>Journal of Evolutionary Biology</em> Confirms Jonathan Wells (by Name) on Peppered Moth Myth - Evolution News & Views
^ do read this...revealing the "scientific method" of some performing experiments "in the field"
both species existed; neither morphed into anything else.
i have no problem with adaptations - within species.
that's not evolution. one species will never become another.