stevevw
Member
As far as I understand the mural on the moth wings evolved through random mutations and natural selection. Just like the lighter coloured pepper moth became darker and more dominant because this camouflaged it against the darker polluted trees in industrial England which gave it a survival advantage. Though this is different as the steps to go from a light colour to a dark colour are not as complicated as not only changing colour but painting a specific picture with the colour and parts in the right place as well as the right shapes being put together to create a specific image. I can understand and accept that changing a colour can happen a lot easier as with skin or hair and the genetic info or instructions are already there. But to create the mural takes a lot more attempts in getting everything right as there are a lot more variables and some that need to happen at the same time.Do you think that making the "picture" in one go as you outlined is in the least bit realistic? Do you think people who study these things are too stupid understand that it's unrealistic?
Did you bother to even try to find out how these kinds of markings evolved?
The answer to your question is: gradually. Have you not heard of an of an evolutionary arms race or co-evolution?
I don't know details about this particular case, but the general mechanism is well understood:-
If you consider a predator with a very simple way of identifying moths, then even a slight smudge on the wing might confuse it and be an advantage for the moth - and such a change would spread through the population due to natural selection. That would mean that a slightly better way of detecting moths in the predator would then become an advantage to it and would spread through that population. That would mean that another slight change in the moth wing would be an advantage and the whole process repeats. Eventually you get predators that are very good at spotting moths and moths that look very much like something that predators will not want to approach.
If we have a blank slate then there are hundreds if not thousands of combinations that can be thrown up through random mutations. I doubt that a mutation could even fluke getting a fraction of that picture in one go in its correct form. I understand that for evolution to work it can produce a small step in a process that may be functional and used as part of the process in building something bigger or more complex. But I often find when the certain well used examples are given they fall short in detail on how this can happen and don't really apply across the board. The point is the certain smaller piece of the jigsaw has to be usable and beneficial and not cause a fitness loss overall otherwise it is not selected. Though many slight mutational changes may occur they are not selected because they have no use and most are slightly deleterious anyway. When added together they won't amount to much and most accumulate into a cost to fitness.
The point is from my understanding a blotch or mark is exactly that almost like a birth mark you could say. Some people may try and read a particular shape into it but generally, it means nothing more than a mark that has no use and will never be selected as something os benefit. For a moth to produce even a specific part of the fly in one mutation, for example, would seem like it was planned as nothing in natural can do this without previous genetic instructions. So we are left with a hit and miss blind attempt at trying to create a specific picture with random bits that may or may not fit the picture or be something that contributes to the end result but is useful on its own as well. I would liken that to throwing paint at a canvas blindfolded and trying to paint a specific picture only in according to evolution any paint that lands on the canvas that gives no benefit would be erased. Even if it stays the chances of the next bit of paint even connecting into anything is very slim.
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