Question

7) Describe the difference between Acllimatization and Adaptation. What are the limits to these two processes?. Describe how these will help specific species (provide examples) while facing climate change effects

Answer 1

ADAPTATION

Biotic changes that takes place in a population during a period of several generations inducing genotypic and phenotypic changes as consequence of a natural selection.i e: an adaptation to living regions with cold weather is the acquisition of heavy fur insulation. This process becomes established only after many generations of natural selection without no apparent preparation time

ACCLIMATIZATION

Sum of adjustments that followed repeated and prolonged exposure to a particular stimulus.Once the stimulus is removed,a new physiological adjustment is expected to occur. So this mechanism is temporary and requires a development period during exposure

i e:

if a group of animals are exposed to increasingly cold weather conditions during a period of 6 weeks, these organisms will increase their ability to survive at cold temperature :

Increasing cold resistance, increasing food consumption, increasing basal metabolic rate and reducing shivering

So, both conditions can be related one each other if we consider that the ability of a population to acclimate could be a form of adaptation

In face to climate changes it seems that ,nowadays ,several species are showing changes in their behavior as a response to acclimatization

ie: it was seen changes in timing of life cycle events ( migration or reproduction) in those species with a relatively short life span (3 years)

Other examples of actual evolution signs in response to climate change

- There was detected a shift in proportion of european larger banded snails with light colored shells.This trait is genetic.

It was seen that in a given environment, those light colored shell-snails showed a decrease in their body temperature as those dark colored shells., becoming more prevalent overtime in Netherlands

- Wild Thyme in France evolved to several extreme cold events since 1970, producing more pungent oil to deter hervibors