Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37684318›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2023

Testosterone identifies hatchling sex for Mojave desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii).

M A Walden, Kevin J Loope, Elizabeth A Hunter, Stephen J Divers, Jessica R Comolli, Todd C Esque, Kevin T Shoemaker

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 88% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 0 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

M A WaldenDepartment of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV, USA. mar.walden@gmail.com.
Kevin J LoopeDepartment of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
Elizabeth A HunterU.S. Geological Survey, Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
Stephen J DiversDepartment of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
Jessica R ComolliDepartment of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
Todd C EsqueU.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Boulder City, NV, USA.
Kevin T ShoemakerDepartment of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV, USA.
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources · USUniversity of Georgia · USVirginia Tech · USUnited States Geological Survey · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The threatened Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) exhibits temperature-dependent sex determination, and individuals appear externally sexually monomorphic until sexual maturity. A non-surgical sex identification method that is suitable for a single in situ encounter with hatchlings is essential for minimizing handling of wild animals. We tested (1) whether plasma testosterone quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay differentiated males from females in 0-3 month old captive hatchlings, and (2) whether an injection of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) differentially elevates testosterone in male hatchlings to aid in identifying sex. We validated sex by ceolioscopic (laparoscopic) surgery. We then fit the testosterone concentrations to lognormal distributions and identified the concentration below which individuals are more likely female, and above which individuals are more likely male. Using a parametric bootstrapping procedure, we estimated a 0.01-0.04% misidentification rate for naïve testosterone samples, and a 1.26-1.39% misidentification rate for challenged (post-FSH injection) testosterone samples. Quantification of plasma testosterone concentration from small volume (0.1 mL) blood samples appears to be a viable, highly accurate method to identify sex of 0-3 month old hatchlings and could be a valuable tool for conservation measures and investigation of trends and variation in sex ratios for in situ wild nests.

Indexed as

TestosteroneTurtlesAnimalsAnimals, WildEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssayFemaleFollicle Stimulating Hormone, HumanMaleFollicle Stimulating Hormone, HumanTestosterone

Identifiers

PMID37684318
PMCPMC10491821
OpenAlexW4386543867

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.