These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Maternal investment. Sex differences in avian yolk hormone levels.
    Author: Petrie M, Schwabl H, Brande-Lavridsen N, Burke T.
    Journal: Nature; 2001 Aug 02; 412(6846):498-9. PubMed ID: 11484039.
    Abstract:
    It has been suggested that female birds put more resources into eggs fathered by attractive males by laying larger eggs or by adding more testosterone, but this inference could be undermined if eggs of different sex are provisioned differently, as these studies did not control for sex differences. Here we compare hormone concentrations in the yolks of male and female eggs and find that these are significantly different. Our results indicate that it is premature to conclude that female birds invest more in eggs sired by a preferred male, and raise the possibility that yolk sex steroids may be part of the sex-determining process in birds.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]