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Acclimatization

 
Acclimatization

 
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Acclimatization
 
 
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Acclimatization is the process of an organism adjusting to chronic change in its environment
Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment....
, often involving temperature, moisture, food, often relating to seasonal climate
Climate

Climate encompasses the temperatures, humidity, atmospheric pressure, winds, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other Meteorology elements in a given region over long periods of time, as opposed to the term weather, which refers to current activity of these same elements....
 changes. (In laboratory conditions, this process is controlled to one variable change only and is termed acclimation).






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Acclimatization is the process of an organism adjusting to chronic change in its environment
Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment....
, often involving temperature, moisture, food, often relating to seasonal climate
Climate

Climate encompasses the temperatures, humidity, atmospheric pressure, winds, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other Meteorology elements in a given region over long periods of time, as opposed to the term weather, which refers to current activity of these same elements....
 changes. (In laboratory conditions, this process is controlled to one variable change only and is termed acclimation). Acclimatization usually occurs in a short time, and within one organism's lifetime (compare adaptation
Adaptation

Adaptation is the process, which takes place under natural selection, whereby an organism becomes better suited to its habitat. Also, the term may refer to some characteristic which stands out as being especially significant in the organism's survival....
). This may be a discrete occurrence or may instead represent part of a periodic cycle, such as a mammal shedding heavy winter fur
Fur

Fur is a Hair of any non-human mammal, also known as the pelage. It may consist of short ground hair, long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium awn hair....
 in favor of a lighter summer coat. Where acclimatization occurs naturally, some authors have used acclimation to describe the process of an organism being forced to adjust to changes in their environment by artificial means, such as in a laboratory setting.

Plants

Many plants, such as maple trees, irises
Iris (plant)

Iris is a genus of between 200-300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species....
, and tomatoes
Tomato

The Tomato is an herbaceous, usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, as are its close cousins Nicotiana, potatoes, aubergine , chilli peppers, and the poisonous Atropa belladonna....
, can survive freezing temperatures if the temperature gradually drops lower and lower each night over a period of days or weeks. The same drop might kill them if it occurred suddenly. This process is called hardening and involves several changes, such as a decrease in the water content and an increase in the sugar content of the plant, lowering the freezing point
Freezing Point

Freezing Point is a news journal in the People's Republic of China which has been the subject of controversy over its criticism of Communist Party officials and the sympathetic ear it lent to a Chinese historian who had criticized official history textbooks....
 of sap
Sap

Sap may refer to:* Plant sap, the fluid transported in xylem cells or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant* Baton #Blackjack, another word for a blackjack, an easily concealed Club ....
.

Animals

Animals acclimatize in many ways. Sheep
Sheep

#REDIRECT Domestic sheep...
 grow very thick wool
Wool

Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells, called follicles, of animals in the Caprinae family, principally domestic sheep, but the hair of certain species of other Mammalia such as cashmere goat, llamas, rabbits and keeshonds may also be called wool....
 in cold, damp climates. Fish
Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
 are able to adjust only gradually to changes in water temperature and quality. Tropical fish sold at pet store
Pet store

A pet store or pet shop is a retail business which sells different kinds of animals. Pet stores also sell pet food, supplies, and accessories....
s are often kept in acclimation bags until this process is complete.

Humans

When humans move from a cool or temperate
Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally mild, rather than extreme hot or cold....
 environment
Natural environment

The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that encompasses all life and non-living things occurring nature on Earth or some region thereof....
 to a hot, dry desert
Désert

?D?sert? is ?milie Simon's debut single, released in October 2002. The song was a huge success both critically and commercially in her homeland....
 environment or vice versa, they should spend up to seven days acclimatizing to the change in their environment. This lets the body make internal adjustments (see homeostasis
Homeostasis

Homeostasis is the property of a system, either open system or closed system, that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition....
) to compensate for the change in environment conditions. If the acclimatization process is ignored, then the person is at higher risk for heat related injuries (heat stroke, heat cramp, pneumonia
Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an Inflammation illness of the lung. Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolus inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid ....
).

Acclimatization to high altitude
High altitude

High altitude are regions on the Earth's surface that are high above mean sea level. The pressure and temperature of the atmosphere at high altitude is substantially different than at sea level....
 continues for months or even years after initial ascent, and ultimately enables humans to survive in an environment that, without acclimatization, would kill them. Humans who migrate permanently to a higher altitude naturally acclimatize to their new environment by developing an increase in the number of red blood cells to increase the oxygen
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
 carrying capacity of the blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
, in order to compensate for lower levels of oxygen
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
 in the air
AIR

Air is the part of Earth's atmosphere that humans breath and as such Air .Air may also refer to:...
.

See also

  • Altitude sickness
    Altitude sickness

    Altitude sickness, also known as acute mountain sickness , altitude illness, or soroche, is a pathological condition that is caused by acute exposure to low air pressure ....
  • Vostok Station
    Vostok Station

    Vostok Station is a Russian Antarctic research station. It is at the southern Pole of Cold, with the lowest reliably measured temperature on Earth of -89.2 ?C ....
  • Acclimatisation society
    Acclimatisation society

    Acclimatisation societies were societies created in order to enrich the fauna of a region with introduced species from around the world. The first such society was La Societ? Zoologique d'Acclimatation founded in Paris in 1854 by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire....


Footnotes