Final answer:
The quote likely refers to the scarcity of animals available for food during harsh winter seasons, which impacts the survival of characters in wilderness settings in literature.
Step-by-step explanation:
The quotation "In winter it gets scarce and sometimes simply nonexistent as the area" from the text likely relates to c) The disappearance of animals in the area during winter. This quote suggests that as winter sets in, the availability of animals, which are a food source, diminishes or even completely disappears. It is a direct reflection of the challenges faced in environments with harsh winter seasons where wildlife becomes scarce, affecting those who depend on these resources for survival, such as the protagonist in a survival story.
To provide more context, this could be describing a character similar to Jack London's Buck from 'The Call of the Wild', where the impending gold rush creates a desperate need for strong dogs, leading to a conflict between man and the merciless natural world of the Yukon. It could also relate to a character like the one in his story 'To Build a Fire', who is struggling against the bitter cold and the unforgiving nature of the wilderness without the necessary imagination to recognize the profound dangers.