In Australia, in years with below-average rainfall, less water goes into rivers and more water is extracted from rivers for drinking and irrigation. Consequently, in such years, water levels drop considerably and the rivers flow more slowly. Because algae grow better the more slowly the water in which they are growing moves, such years are generally beneficial to populations of algae. But, by contrast, populations of algae drop in periods of extreme drought. Which of the following, if true, does most to explain the contrast? ['Algae cannot survive in the absence of water.', 'The more slowly water moves, the more conducive its temperature is to the growth of algae.', 'The larger the population of algae in a body of water, the less sunlight reaches below the surface of the water.', 'Algae grow better in ponds and lakes than in rivers.']