Question

1. Create your meme. There are lots of meme generators available you can Google--or use this one. (Links to an external site.)

2. In the Big 1 Gallery, insert your Meme into a post, then write a short paragraph explaining your meme, including which evolutionary mechanism(s) it is about, and how that mechanism can cause a population to evolve over time.

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSubmits an original content meme that covers one of the 4 evolutionary mechanisms

1. Mutation

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2. Natural Selection

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3. Genetic Drift

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4. Gene Flow

Mechanism it is about:

Explanation:

How this mechanism can change the population's genetics :

Answer 1

Mechanism it is about: Natural selection

Explanation: This meme refers to the phenomenon of industrial melanism. The lady represents the light gray peppered moth (Biston betularia) who is aggrieved and is shouting at the cat, representing the dark gray variant of the same species, sitting nonchalantly.

Because of pollution due to rapid industrialization, the trunks of trees became black, covered with soot. This put the light gray moths at a disadvantage as they were more visible on these trunks and hence were more predated upon. The dark gray moth now had a selective advantage, they could blend in and were less predated. So they prospered and their frequency in the population increased. This is an example of natural selection.

How this mechanism can change the population's genetics: Natural selection chooses trait which is most advantageous in a particular condition, and individuals with that trait get a selective advantage, and reproduce better. This increases their frequency in the population. Thus natural selection increases frequencies of advantageous traits in a population.

Hope this helps! :)