Final answer:
The question explores the concept of directional selection in peppered moths, which shifted from light to dark colors due to increased predation during the sooty conditions of the Industrial Revolution. It challenges Tutt's hypothesis by questioning the expected correlation between reduced pollution, the reappearance of light-colored lichens on trees, and the frequency of light-colored moths.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subject in question concerns directional selection as observed in the case of the peppered moth population during the Industrial Revolution. When the environment became polluted with soot, there was a shift from light-colored moths to dark-colored moths, because the darker moths were better camouflaged against the sooty bark of trees, making them less vulnerable to predation by birds. As pollution was reduced and environments began to revert to their cleaner state, the expectation was that selection against melanism would correlate with the re-appearance of light-colored lichens on trees, thereby facilitating a shift back to the light-colored phenotype. However, the question suggests a challenge to Tutt's hypothesis with evidence that does not support the correlation between reduced pollution, the return of light-colored lichens, and a decrease in the melanic forms of the moths.