CAM stands for crassulacean acid metabolism and is a feature of plants that have adapted to survive in arid environments. CAM plants minimize photorespiration by only opening their stomata at night to collect carbon dioxide, thus preventing excess evapotranspiration from occurring during the day. The prickly pear cactus seen here exhibits this behavior as it stores carbon dioxide in vacuoles at night then releases it in the morning where it takes part in the Calvin cycle.
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