Precipitation: A. refers to any form of water, including rain, snow, runoff and groundwater. B. has a profound effect on the distribution of organisms. C. is lightest near the windward (the side from which the wind blows) coasts of continents. D. varies among geographic locations, with the highest annual precipitation occurring in Chile. E. occurs independently of atmospheric circulation patterns.

B. has a profound effect on the distribution of organisms

Explanation:

How plants and animals grow to a large degree relies on the level of precipitation.

Some plants need more water while other plants can strive with reduced amount of available water. Different animals will strive on varying plants as this will prompt the animals to be based in the region that has the plants they feed on, of which in the process it affects distribution. Some specific kinds of animals can only strive in moist climatic region (take for example, frogs / amphibians / insects). The higher the precipitation the more the rainfall which in turn buttress the growth of more species and a wider aspect of biodiversity. An increased precipitation means more plants will grow resulting in more species / huge range of bio diversity. In regions with little amount of water, the aftermath will be reduced number of plants, prompting a low amount of species which can strive in that region.