Biology / Unit 3 Bio 0608 short lesson, about 20 seconds
CAM: A Water-Conserving Adaptation
Captions available
The idea
Crassulacean acid metabolism opens stomata and stores carbon dioxide overnight, then closes them by day and runs the Calvin cycle on that stored carbon.
In practice
A cactus opens its stomata at night, when cooler air cuts water loss, then keeps them shut through the day's heat.
Where people slip
This adaptation shifts when carbon dioxide is captured, not how the Calvin cycle itself runs.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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