Nhận biết (M1)

In 2015 Floriana Lai and colleagues published a study concluding that ocean acidification has a strong effect on the behavior of Gasterosteus aculeatus, a species of fish. However, Lai and colleagues' study relied on a mean sample size of only 12 fish. In a 2022 review of various scientists' conclusions about the impacts of ocean acidification on fish behavior, Jeff C. Clements and colleagues caution that relying on such a relatively small sample size can increase the potential for biased analysis. Such analysis, in turn, can contribute to reports of exaggerated effects.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

• A.

  It elaborates on a potential consequence of Lai and colleagues' reliance on a relatively small sample size.

• B.

  It summarizes a shift in scientists' understanding of how Gasterosteus aculeatus has responded to ocean acidification.

• C.

  It emphasizes the magnitude of the effect reported by Lai and colleagues of ocean acidification on Gasterosteus aculeatus.

• D.

  It counters the objection of Clements and colleagues to studies that rely on relatively small sample sizes.