Which of the following statements describes the most likely selective pressure behind the evolution of feathers?
a. feathers assisted with the ability to climb into trees
b. feathers were used to direct turning while in flight
c. feathers were used as part of a social display
d. feathers were used to collect food from burrows
e. feathers were used to reduce water loss

c. Feathers were used as part of a social display

Explanation:

There are many speculations about the origin of feathers, some researchers believe that they emerged as a specific function, others defend the idea of the emergence of feathers from a social display.

The social display may have been one of the factors for the origin of the feathers, since in addition to the conquest of the female, animals thus selected would gain more conducive conditions for survival, such as better regulation of body temperature. But social display alone could not have forced the emergence of more complex feathers, since in many cases sexual characters usually occur only in males and not in females, or less apparent in females.

The appearance of penaceous appendages in theropods may be linked to the evolution of a high metabolic rate, which provides an improvement in locomotor skills as well as distinct behavior and visual communication. The development of penaceous appendages may also have played an important role in regards competition and radiation success of maniraptor theropods and their descendants of active flight in the Jurassic. Therefore, the theory is believed that external factors (natural selection) along with social display could have propitiated the origin of feathers.