INDUSTRIAL MELANISM


Meaning of INDUSTRIAL MELANISM in English

the darknessof the skin, feathers, or furacquired by a population of animals living in an industrial region where the environment is soot-darkened. The melanization of a population increases the probability that its members will survive and reproduce; it takes place over the course of many generations as the result of natural selection of the lighter, more conspicuous animals by predators.

Britannica English vocabulary.      Английский словарь Британика.