Question

What is acclimatization? How is adaptation different from acclimatization?

Answer 1

There are a variety of different ecosystems on the planet that all have their own climate. All organisms have to be able to survive extreme conditions if they want to thrive and survive and they use acclimatization to do this.

Complete answer:
In order to survive in extreme conditions, organisms need to be able to regulate their bodies. Acclimatization is the process by which an organism is able to adjust the inner workings of its body to various climatic factors like pH, temperature, humidity, and so on.
Typically acclimatization can refer to certain behavioral or physical changes that help the organism to survive in harsh climates. For example, a dog will start to pant when it feels hot. This is done to reduce body temperature by bringing in cool air.
Acclimatization vs Adaptation:
Acclimatization is typically a temporary change that does not affect the genome of an organism. This change is simply brought about by a difference in climatic factors. Many animals start to cover themselves in mud to cool their bodies down. However once the temperature changes, they stop this behavior.
Adaptation refers to a change that happens over a long period of time. This change usually happens over multiple generations. Thus the basic genome of the organism undergoes changes which eventually leads to evolution.

Note:
Both acclimatization and adaptation are processes that help animals to survive in extreme conditions. However, the main difference between both of these is that adaptation leads to long-term changes in the form of evolution while acclimatization is only temporary.