BISTON BETULARIA

[John Grehan]

Bruce wrote

>Actually, if one reads the creationist literature, the Biston experiments
>themselves are not really challenged.  Rather they are presenting as
>support that while the frequencies of the morphs may have changed, the moths
>were fundamentally the same, and hence no evolution has occurred.  (A
>rather interesting statement to say the least!)

If the essence of evolution is a change in gene frequencies, not matter what the
temporal or spatial scale, then of course evolution has occured - simply as a
matter of definition.

However, its a leap of faith to take such experiments as unequivocal
evidence that this
is the way evolution works at larger temporal and spatial scales. The experiment
demonstrates the effect of natural selection. Whether such is the normal
run of events
in the establishment of evolutionary novelty is another matter.

John Grehan