The answer to this can be found in Chapter 7, page 123 in
the paperback edition. According to Diamond, the Industrial Revolution led to
pollution, which made trees in England darker because of all the soot and such that
landed on them. This affected moth populations because it changed the color of the bark
that they would sit on. When the bark was light, light moths would blend in and be
camouflaged. As the trees got darker, light moths were at a disadvantage and dark moths
were camouflaged. This led to moths getting darker because natural selection preferred
those that were dark.
Diamond tells this story to
illustrate the ways in which human activities can affect the ways that animals (and
plants) evolve.
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