Essential Knowledge 1.A.2 (3D GameLab)

Peppered Moth Simulation

21.
 Light Forest -> 77% light moths and 23% dark moths at end
 Dark Forest ->  33% light moths and 67% dark moths at end

22.
In a light forest, a light-colored moth would have a much greater chance at survival because it can blend easily into its surroundings. The tan color of the bark was the same as if not similar to the color of the light-colored moths in that simulation. A light-colored moth would be in stark contrast to the light background, and predators would be able to pick it out much more quickly. In the same way, in the dark forest, a dark-colored moth would be much harder for a predator to find than a light-colored moth that would stick out so easily from its surroundings.

23.
Natural selection dictates that in a situation with variation in traits, differential reproduction, and heredity, the phenotype that allows the organisms that best chance at survival will continue to exist and be carried on in the next generation. In this example, the light or dark color that allows the greatest chance at survival from predators in the light or dark environment, respectively, will be passed on by the moths of that color to the offspring.

24.
If there were no predators in this case, the colors of the moths might still change, though not nearly as dramatically. Moths of both light and dark colors would continue to proliferate. The colors within the moth population might only change depending on the nature of the colors' genotype; if the relationship between the dark and light genes was incomplete dominance, there may be an intermediate color (perhaps gray) that would appear.