Moths, Lichens and Air Pollution Along a Transect from Manchester to North Wales

Wang, J; Zhao, Zuomin; Li, L

doi:10.2307/2401719

Cited by 41 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Although the process is not a simple reversion, lichens have increased in extent and diversity where SO 2 concentration has fallen (Henderson-Sellers & Seaward 1979;Hawksworth & McManus 1989;Bates et al 1990;Brake¢eld 1990). In the north-west, epiphyte patterns changed after the decline in atmospheric pollution (Bishop et al 1975;Cook et al 1990). A similar association of changes has occurred in The Netherlands (Brake¢eld 1990).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Melanic morph frequency in the peppered moth in the Manchester area

Cook

Dennis

Mani

1999

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Data are presented for the Manchester area, showing the recent change in frequency of the melanic morph carbonaria of the peppered moth Biston betularia (L.). The frequency has fallen from 90% in 1983 to below 10% at present; this decline shows that the phenomenon of industrial melanism, ¢rst noted in this species in Manchester, is now almost past.Data from the Wirral peninsula, to the west of Manchester, published by C. A. Clarke and F. M. M. Clarke, show a slightly less rapid decline starting some ten years earlier from a lower maximum. Records from north-west Kent, published by B. K. West, also show a less intense decline from a lower peak several years in advance of the Manchester decline. The changes observed agree with a migration^selection model, which predicts subsidence of the plateau of high carbonaria frequency, with contraction from the edges. Selection in this model includes a non-visual ¢tness advantage of carbonaria homozygotes, a ¢tness di¡erence associated with change in atmospheric sulphur dioxide concentration (which may act through di¡erential crypsis) and frequency-dependent protection of rare forms. When all available data are compared, there is a negative relation between estimated ¢tness of carbonaria over the period of decline and initial level of atmospheric pollution.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Melanic morph frequency in the peppered moth in the Manchester area

Cook

Dennis

Mani

1999

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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“…The data are therefore not presented here. In 0. bidentata it is known that the moths tend to be more secretive in their resting position (Bishop et al, 1975). Nevertheless, experiments indicated that non-nigra individuals were at a disadvantage in areas of high nigra frequency, and there is evidence of late emergence of nigra (Bishop et a!., 1978a, b).…”

Section: Results (I) Frequency In Successive Yearsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has a pattern of distribution corresponding more closely with these sites than that of the Peppered moth Biston betularia, which has a melanic frequency of over 90 per cent throughout the region. Unlike the Peppered moth, however, it appears to be secretive in its resting behaviour and therefore less likely to be exposed to selective predation (Bishop et a!., 1975, but cf. Mikkola, 1983, who considers that the role of selective predation may have been over-emphasized in B. betularia).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frequency and selection in the industrial melanic moth Odontoptera bidentata

Cook

Jacobs²

1983

Heredity

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SUMMARYData are presented on morph frequency, selective return and date of emergence of morphs in the polymorphic melanic moth Odontoprera (= Gonodontis) bidentata (CL.). They come from three sites along the Mersey in industrial northwest England, and are used to test predictions from an earlier survey. There has been no decline in melanic frequency over the period studied. Non-melanics returned to traps less frequently than melanics at a site where the melanic frequency is high, agreeing with an earlier result. This suggests selection against non-melanics. Emergence starts later to the east of the region than to the west, and melanics emerge later than non-melanics. The late emergers must include heterozygotes as well as homozygotes. These results are discussed in relation to the question of how the polymorphism is maintained.

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“…Anything that reduces longevity, increases the developmental period, shortens the reproductive period, reduces fecundity or fertility, or alters the age of first breeding will reduce lifetime reproductive success. (17)(18)(19). This industrial pollution modified the habitat, which in turn greatly altered the relative fitness of different phenotypes by modifying their vulnerability to predation.…”

Section: Natural Selection and Evolution As Tinkeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tinkering with the Tinkerer: Pollution versus Evolution

Fox¹

1995

Environmental Health Perspectives

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Pollutants can act as powerful selective forces by altering genetic variability, its intergenerational transfer, and the size, functional viability, adaptability, and survival of future generations. It is at the level of the cell and the individual that meiosis occurs, that genetic diversity is maintained, and behavior, reproduction, growth, and survival occur and are regulated. It is at this level that evolutionary processes occur and most pollutants exert their toxic effects. Chronic exposure to chemicals contributes to the cumulative stress on individuals and disrupts physiological processes and chemically mediated communication thereby threatening the diversity and long-term survival of sexually reproducing biota. Regional or global effects of pollution on the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere have indirectly altered Earth's life-support systems, thereby modifying trace metal balance, reproduction, and incidence of UV-B-induced DNA damage in biota. By altering the competitive ability and survival of species, chemical pollutants potentially threaten evolutionary processes and the biodiversity and function of intercepting ecosystems.-Environ Health Perspect 103 (Suppl 4): 93-100 (1995)

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Moths, Lichens and Air Pollution Along a Transect from Manchester to North Wales

Cited by 41 publications

References 14 publications

Melanic morph frequency in the peppered moth in the Manchester area

Melanic morph frequency in the peppered moth in the Manchester area

Frequency and selection in the industrial melanic moth Odontoptera bidentata

Tinkering with the Tinkerer: Pollution versus Evolution

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