Origin and Evolution of Life — BIOLOGY STD 12 Science — Question

(1) Height of neck of Giraffe : Long-necked Giraffe came into existence in the following way. Long-necked Giraffe could pluck and eat more leaves from tall trees and woody climbers. So it was well adapted to the environment. Short-necked one could not get food and thus perished in the struggle. This adaptation was transmitted to their offspring.

(2) Black colour peppered moths : The example of industrial melanism seen in U.K. is an excellent example of natural selection in action. Black coloured moths evolved gradually as new species from the previous white coloured forms.

(3) DDT resistance in mosquitoes : Intensive DDT spraying destroyed all types of mosquitoes. Some mosquitoes developed resistance to DDT and survived in spite of DDT spray. They reproduced more and were thus selected naturally.