Plants growing in different environments develop with different photosynthetic capacities--developmental acclimation of photosynthesis. It is also possible for fully developed leaves to change their photosynthetic capacity--dynamic acclimation. The importance of acclimation has not previously been demonstrated. Here, we show that developmental and dynamic acclimation are distinct processes. Fur...

Stem tissues of red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera Michx.) acclimated from -3 C to -40 or -50 C in 8 to 10 weeks under a short photoperiod (9 hours) and controlled temperature conditions. During the summer months plants did not acclimate as well as at other times. The sequence of day/night temperature regimes which induced maximum acclimation was 20/15 C for 5 to 6 weeks; 15/5 C for 2 to 3 w...

Cold acclimation caused the following changes in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) of the hamster: the relative weight of the tissue increased, it color darkened, the multilocular structure predominated, and tissue protein content increased while fat content decreased. There was also an increase in the mitochondrial protein content. Heat acclimation had the opposite effects, i.e., the color became...

Drosophila ananassae has successfully invaded the cold and dry montane localities of the Western Himalayas in recent years. The ability of this desiccation- and cold-sensitive tropical species to evolve in response to seasonal changes in montane localities is largely unknown. Here, we investigated how this sensitive species adapt to seasonally varying environmental conditions that are lethal to...

Climate warming is expected to increase respiration rates of tropical forest trees and lianas, which may negatively affect the carbon balance of tropical forests. Thermal acclimation could mitigate the expected respiration increase, but the thermal acclimation potential of tropical forests remains largely unknown. In a tropical forest in Panama, we experimentally increased nighttime temperature...

Water hardness is known to control the uptake and toxicity of zinc and other metals through either chemical competition, biological acclimation, or both processes. The dominant process controlling zinc uptake has not been previously elucidated, nor has the effect of calcium been investigated independently of other cations. We determined zinc uptake by rainbow trout acclimated and exposed to fou...

Invasive species are commonly thought to have broad tolerances that enable them to colonize new habitats, but this assumption has rarely been tested. In particular, the relative importance of acclimation (plasticity) and adaptation for invasion success are poorly understood. This study examined effects of short-term and developmental acclimation on adult salinity tolerance in the copepod Euryte...

Thermal acclimation (acclimatization) capacity may be critical for determining how successfully an ectotherm can respond to temperature change, and adaptive shifts in gene expression may be pivotal for mediating these acclimatory responses. Using a cDNA microarray, we examined transcriptional profiles in gill tissue of a highly eurythermal goby fish, Gillichthys mirabilis, following 4 wk of acc...

The questions concerned with temperature regulation raise sufficient controversy in themselves so that little but valor or foolishness can be attributed to one who chooses to discuss this subject in the furor of a second controversy acclimatization. However, I should like to introduce the papers of this session with a summary and a synthesis of the data with respect to control of metabolism and...

This study examined the impact of heat acclimation on improving exercise performance in cool and hot environments. Twelve trained cyclists performed tests of maximal aerobic power (VO2max), time-trial performance, and lactate threshold, in both cool [13°C, 30% relative humidity (RH)] and hot (38°C, 30% RH) environments before and after a 10-day heat acclimation (∼50% VO2max in 40°C) program. Th...