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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Experimental alteration of litter sex ratios in a mammal
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Volume 275, No. 1632, Year 2008
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Description
Adaptive theory predicts that mothers would be advantaged by adjusting the sex ratio of their offspring in relation to their offspring's future reproductive success. Studies investigating sex ratio variation in mammals, including humans, have obtained notoriously inconsistent results, except when maternal condition is measured around conception. Several mechanisms for sex ratio adjustment have been proposed. Here, we test the hypothesis that glucose concentrations around conception influence sex ratios. The change in glucose levels resulted in a change in sex ratios, with more daughters being born to females with experimentally lowered glucose, and with the change in glucose levels being more predictive than the glucose levels per se. We provide evidence for a mechanism, which, in tandem with other mechanisms, could explain observed sex ratio variation in mammals. © 2007 The Royal Society.
Authors & Co-Authors
Cameron, Elissa Z.
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Lemons, Patrick R.
United States, Reno
University of Nevada, Reno
Bateman, Philip William
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Bennett, Nigel C.
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Statistics
Citations: 121
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1098/rspb.2007.1401
ISSN:
09628452
Research Areas
Maternal And Child Health
Sexual And Reproductive Health
Participants Gender
Female