|Question 10Verbal

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Baleen whales eat up to 30 percent of their total body mass in krill (tiny shrimplike creatures) per day. So in one day, a pygmy right whale weighing 3,500 kg could eat 1,050 kg, while a bowhead whale weighing 66,000 kg could ingest a whopping 19,800 kg. Over the last century, baleen whale populations have declined, and contrary to some scientists' expectations, so have krill populations. Matthew S. Savoca and colleagues resolve this apparent discrepancy by pointing out that baleen whales cycle iron in the ocean, helping support phytoplankton populations, which, in turn, sustain krill populations.
Based on the text, what can most reasonably be concluded about pygmy right and bowhead whales?
As krill consumption by pygmy right whales has decreased, the krill consumption of bowhead whales has increased.
A
The bowhead whale is able to eat more krill per day than the pygmy right whale is.
B
Both pygmy right and bowhead whales can eat krill, but of the two only the pygmy right whale can also subsist on phytoplankton.
C
Populations of both pygmy right and bowhead whales have declined significantly over the last century due to decreasing levels of iron in the ocean.
D