There are some cases of animals that use camouflage. Someof this camouflage is s

Question

There are some cases of animals that use camouflage. Someof this camouflage is simple (the melanic allele in peppered moths)while some is quite complex (the shape shifting octopus).
How would such camouflage come about? How would an ancestral lizard, for example, come to be achameleon with color changing skin? Think about at least 2 STEPS in evolution between the ancestorand the chameleon. Use your imagination and your logic here, thereis no correct answer. Remember these adaptations must have aphenotype linked to a genotype for evolution to occur.
I will rate you lifesaver immediately!!! Thank you somuch in advance There are some cases of animals that use camouflage. Someof this camouflage is simple (the melanic allele in peppered moths)while some is quite complex (the shape shifting octopus).
How would such camouflage come about? How would an ancestral lizard, for example, come to be achameleon with color changing skin? Think about at least 2 STEPS in evolution between the ancestorand the chameleon. Use your imagination and your logic here, thereis no correct answer. Remember these adaptations must have aphenotype linked to a genotype for evolution to occur.
I will rate you lifesaver immediately!!! Thank you somuch in advance

Explanation / Answer

The camouflage comes about when that particular expressed geneis advantagous. For example, if you only have black moths, but thena gene mutation causes the expression of the peppered appearance,the mutant gene may increase survivorship of those it is expressedin. This is dependent of course upon the enviroment; if theenvironment favors the peppered moths as camouflage that trait willbecome more and more common. I think for the second part it is important to know thephysiology behind the color changing capacity of chameleons. Theskin of chameleons is actually transparent, and they are notpurposefully changing color to match their environment. It is acoincidence that they will change between green brown and gray.Cells under the skin contain pigments and reflect light; the colorchanges in response to mood, temperature, and light. Thus, an ancestral lizard might come to be a chameleon ifthere is a gene mutation that causes transparent skin; togetherwith a gene mutation that gives the cells the ability to expressdifferent pigments and reflect light. Over the course of evolution, one of the steps leading up tothe color changing skin of chamelons may have been that manydifferent colors were expressed in the skin of the lizard. However,green, black, and brown would work best in the environments theylive in. The lizards that expressed predominantly green black orbrown would have better camouflage and, thus, bettersurvivorship. Not sure how much this help but hopefully it will at least getyou on your way! If you have any questions don't hesitate tomessage me. GOOD LUCK!

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