industrial melanism

industrial melanism
Darkness of the skin, feathers, or fur developed 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 because it offers protection in the form of camouflage; it takes place over the course of many generations as the result of natural selection of the lighter, more conspicuous animals by predators.

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      the darkness—of the skin, feathers, or fur—acquired 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.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • industrial melanism — industrial melanism. См. индустриальный меланизм. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • industrial melanism — /ɪndʌstriəl ˈmɛlənɪzəm/ (say industreeuhl meluhnizuhm) noun melanism, originally observed in moths in 19th century England, developed in response to an environment affected by an industrial output of soot, the darker organisms being selected to… …  

  • industrial melanism — noun Date: 1943 genetically determined melanism as a population phenomenon especially in moths in which the proportion of dark individuals tends to increase due to differential predation especially by birds which more easily find and eat lighter… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • industrial melanism — noun : genetically determined melanism as a population phenomenon especially in moths in which the proportion of dark individuals tends to increase due to differential predation especially by birds which more easily find and eat lighter colored… …   Useful english dictionary

  • industrial melanism — The evolution of a darkened population owing to melanistic individuals that blend with their substrate in the sooty surroundings of an industrial area …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

  • industrial melanism — the gradual darkening of populations of organisms living in soot darkened (industrialized) habitats due to the selective pressure of predators, the darker individuals tending to survive as the conspicuous individuals are eaten, thus favoring the… …   Medical dictionary

  • Melanism — The black panther is the prototypical example of melanism. Melanism is an undue development of dark colored pigment in the skin or its appendages, and the opposite of albinism. It is also the medical term for black jaundice.[1] The word is… …   Wikipedia

  • industrial — industrially, adv. industrialness, n. /in dus tree euhl/, adj. 1. of, pertaining to, of the nature of, or resulting from industry: industrial production; industrial waste. 2. having many and highly developed industries: an industrial nation. 3.… …   Universalium

  • melanism — noun Date: 1843 1. an increased amount of black or nearly black pigmentation (as of skin, feathers, or hair) of an individual or kind of organism compare industrial melanism 2. intense human pigmentation of the skin, eyes, and hair • melanistic… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • melanism — n. [Gr. melas, black; ismos, denoting condition] 1. An excessive darkening of color owing to increased amounts of black pigment. 2. A certain percentage of individuals in a population that give rise to polymorphism; see industrial… …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

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