The average rate of change tells how much the output changes per one unit of input.

Here:

t= " hours after 5:00 a.m. "

and

n(t)= " number of animals "

The two given points are:

A=(1,10.6)

and

B=(8,6.59)

Use the average rate of change formula:

(y_2-y_1)/(x_2-x_1 )

Substitute the coordinates:

(6.59-10.6)/(8-1)

=(-4.01)/7

≈-0.573

The negative sign means the number of animals is decreasing.

So the correct interpretation is:

" The number of animals at the station decreases at an average rate of " 0.573 " animals per hour. "

Therefore, the correct answer is:

▭ ( " B " )