Choice A is the best answer. The author explains that Dial created his initial experiment to try and create "new data on the age-old ground-up-tree-down debate," and that he looked for "clues" in "how baby game birds learned to fly" (lines 8-11"to...fly"). The note at the beginning of the passage explains the "age-old ground-up-tree down debate" and offers two different theories on how birds evolved to fly. Finally, the last paragraph of the passage discusses WAIR in an evolutionary context.
Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because they do not identify Dial's central assumption in setting up his research.