Scientists studying climate change have found that global warming not only increases the temperature of the planet but also leads, on average, to an earlier arrival of the spring season and a later arrival of the autumn season. Though some argue that this effect on the seasons is advantageous because it increases the length of the summer growing season, leaders of the World Wildlife Fund fear that many animal species will not be able to adapt to the altered season lengths and will thus soon face extinction.

Which of the following, if true, provides the best evidence in support of the view held by the leaders of the World Wildlife Fund?


(A) When spring arrives earlier than usual, most species of hibernating mammals are forced to emerge from hibernation earlier than usual and to find alternative food sources to supplement their regular diets.

(B) As the planet's temperature rises, the average global sea surface temperature also rises, endangering several marine organisms that reside near the sea surface and that can only survive within very narrow temperature windows.

(C) Many species of salmon rely on seasonal changes in temperature to signal the start of their annual migrations and will leave their freshwater birthplaces early if spring arrives early; as a result, the populations of several types of freshwater insects consumed by those species of salmon will grow exponentially, infesting thousands of acres of crops on which humans rely.

(D) The young of many species of birds and rodents feed exclusively on caterpillars, whose metamorphosis into butterflies is triggered by seasonal changes in temperature.

(E) As the length of the summer growing season increases, the amount of carbon emissions produced by humans gradually increases, exacerbating the increase in global temperatures that will likely endanger hundreds of animal species.

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