The marine iguana, amblyrhynchus cristatus, is endemic to the galápagos islands and is especially vulnerable to el niño events. these iguanas feed on red and green algae. during an el niño climate event, surface waters and their currents in the central and eastern pacific ocean become significantly warmer than usual. also during el niño years, land masses experience increased rainfall. a researcher suggests that el niño conditions cause a significant decrease in the size of the galápagos marine iguana population. which of the following would best support this alternative hypothesis? a. increased rainfall on land leads to increased nutrient runoff into the ocean and increased food resources for marina iguanas.
b. warm surface water contains fewer nutrients needed by red and green algae than cooler surface waters does.
c. warm surface water shortens the incubation time of marine iguana embryos.
d. cool surface water decreases the metabolic rate of marine iguanas, so they need more food to compensate for the lowered metabolic rate.