Acclimatization refers to the body's gradual adaptive physiological responses to a changed environment, such as higher altitudes, or higher or lower temperatures. This biological response to repeated stimuli occurs without genetic change.
There are generally three classifications of acclimatization: (1) simple, reversible acclimatization, which is a a physiological response to a stressful environment that gradually disappears when the stressor is removed (2) irreversible acclimatization which occurs because of climatic stessors but remains after the stress is removed, and (3) developmental acclimatization, which is much like irreversible acclimatization except that the stimuli must occur at a certain time in the organism's growth cycle.
This page created 05 Sep 2011 23:31
Last updated 27 Feb 2016 22:55