Which choice most logically completes the text?

To gauge the effect of microplastics on marine benthic filter feeders, researchers exposed blue musse

Question

Which choice most logically completes the text?

To gauge the effect of microplastics on marine benthic filter feeders, researchers exposed blue mussels (_Mytilus edulis_) to varying concentrations of polystyrene micro-beads over a six-week trial. While control mussels maintained an average filtration rate of 3.8 liters of seawater per hour, mussels exposed to high plastic concentrations exhibited a 42% decline in clearance velocity and suffered significant gill inflammation. Given that benthic filter feeders play a primary role in cycling nutrients and mitigating coastal eutrophication, these experimental findings indicate that ______

Accepted Answer

plastic debris poses a systemic threat not merely to individual bivalve physiology, but to broad estuarine water quality regulation.

Answer

blue mussels will rapidly adapt by developing chitinous filtration membranes impervious to polymers.

Answer

coastal industries should substitute polystyrene micro-beads with high-density polyethylene micro-tubes.

Answer

filter-feeding bivalves are more resilient to oceanic pollution than apex marine carnivores.

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More Information and Ideas Questions in SAT

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More Information and Ideas Questions in SAT