Adaptation involves changes in a population, / with characteristics that are passed from one generation to the next.

This is different from acclimation / - an individual organism’s changes / in response to an altered environment.

For example, / if you spend the summer outside, / you may acclimate to the sunlight: / your skin will increase / its concentration of dark pigments / that protect you from the sun.

This is a temporary change, / and you won’t pass the temporary change / on to future generations.

However, / the capacity to produce skin pigments / is inherited.

For populations living in intensely sunny environments, / individuals with a good ability to produce skin pigments / are more likely to thrive, or to survive, / than people with a poor ability to produce pigments, / and that trait becomes increasingly common / in subsequent generations.

If you look around, / you can find countless examples of adaptation.

The distinctive long neck of a giraffe, for example, / developed / as individuals that happened to have longer necks / had an advantage / in feeding on the leaves of tall trees.