Salt water is an abundant resource but unusable for irrigation and drinking. As demands on freshwater sources increase, the use of desalination processes to remove salt from ocean water is increasing. A concern of desalinating water is the large amounts of recovered salts that are returned to the ocean. Which of the following describes the most likely impact of desalination on the surrounding ocean environment?

Options are not provided in the question. The complete question is as following:

Salt water is an abundant resource but unusable for irrigation and drinking. As demands on freshwater sources increase, the use of desalination processes to remove salt from ocean water is increasing. A concern of desalinating water is the large amounts of recovered salts that are returned to the ocean. Which of the following describes the most likely impact of desalination on the surrounding ocean environment?

A. Methane gas would pollute the ocean environment as shoreline organisms begin to die and decay.

B. Alteration in ocean salt levels would cause loss of species and unbalanced populations in marine food webs.

C. Nonrenewable resources in the ocean environment would become depleted and upset the ecosystem's balance.

D. Increased levels of salts and minerals in the ocean would result in overpopulation of marine bivalves due to strengthened shells.

B.

Explanation:

Desalination is done to fulfill the requirement of freshwater from ocean water and then the recovered salts are returned to the ocean, which affects the ocean environment. It majorly impacts the   loss of species and unbalanced  populations in marine food webs due to continuous alteration in ocean salt levels.

All the animals are dependent on the habitat or external abiotic factor for their survival and any change in the habitat or abiotic condition such as temperature, pressure and salinity causes change in their existence. The marine animals depend on ocean water for their survival, some of the activities that depend on salinity of water are egg fertilization and incubation, early embryogenesis, yolk sac resorption, larval growth and   swimbladder inflation.

If salinity of ocean increases, all the activities of marine organism will disturbed which will result into loss of marine species and further lead to unbalance the populations in marine food webs

So, change in salinity (abiotic factor) will definitely affect the marine organism.

Hence, the correct option is B.