ArticlePloS one2014
Maternal condition but not corticosterone is linked to offspring sex ratio in a passerine bird.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Different Maternal Quality Aspects Covary With the Offspring Sex Ratio and Condition in Bearded Reedlings (Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Context-dependent thermolability of sex determination in a lacertid lizard with heteromorphic sex chromosomes.Biology open · 2023Article
- Pre- and postnatal effects of experimentally manipulated maternal corticosterone on growth, stress reactivity and survival of nestling house wrens.Functional ecology · 2018Article
- Do glucocorticoids predict fitness? Linking environmental conditions, corticosterone and reproductive success in the blue tit,Royal Society open science · 2017Article
- Karyotype analysis and sex determination in Australian Brush-turkeys (Alectura lathami).PloS one · 2017Article
- Elevated corticosterone during egg production elicits increased maternal investment and promotes nestling growth in a wild songbird.Hormones and behavior · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issuedAdams, Aileen [corrected to Adam, Aileen]
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There is evidence of offspring sex ratio adjustment in a range of species, but the potential mechanisms remain largely unknown. Elevated maternal corticosterone (CORT) is associated with factors that can favour brood sex ratio adjustment, such as reduced maternal condition, food availability and partner attractiveness. Therefore, the steroid hormone has been suggested to play a key role in sex ratio manipulation. However, despite correlative and causal evidence CORT is linked to sex ratio manipulation in some avian species, the timing of adjustment varies between studies. Consequently, whether CORT is consistently involved in sex-ratio adjustment, and how the hormone acts as a mechanism for this adjustment remains unclear. Here we measured maternal baseline CORT and body condition in free-living blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) over three years and related these factors to brood sex ratio and nestling quality. In addition, a non-invasive technique was employed to experimentally elevate maternal CORT during egg laying, and its effects upon sex ratio and nestling quality were measured. We found that maternal CORT was not correlated with brood sex ratio, but mothers with elevated CORT fledged lighter offspring. Also, experimental elevation of maternal CORT did not influence brood sex ratio or nestling quality. In one year, mothers in superior body condition produced male biased broods, and maternal condition was positively correlated with both nestling mass and growth rate in all years. Unlike previous studies maternal condition was not correlated with maternal CORT. This study provides evidence that maternal condition is linked to brood sex ratio manipulation in blue tits. However, maternal baseline CORT may not be the mechanistic link between the maternal condition and sex ratio adjustment. Overall, this study serves to highlight the complexity of sex ratio adjustment in birds and the difficulties associated with identifying sex biasing mechanisms.
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