Acute corticosterone treatment prior to ovulation biases offspring sex ratios towards males in zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata

Abstract

Researchers have documented significant skews in the primary sex ratios of avian offspring in relation to a variety of environmental and social cues. Zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata, in particular, adjust offspring sex ratio according to both the quality and quantity of available food, as well as male attractiveness. The mechanisms behind such manipulation of offspring sex remain elusive. Recent studies suggest that females with chronically elevated corticosterone levels (both naturally and artificially) produce significantly female biased offspring sex ratios. We tested the effects of a pharmacological dose of corticosterone or progesterone administered at the time of sex chromosome segregation on the primary sex ratio of zebra finch offspring to determine whether one or both hormones act on offspring sex at this critical period. Females were injected with 20 mg of corticosterone or 20 mg of progesterone five hours prior to the predicted time of ovulation of the 3 rd or 4th ovulating follicle. A third group of females were unmanipulated. The corticosterone treated group produced 72% males while the control group produced 37.5% in the 3rd or 4th ovulation of the sequence. Progesterone injections disrupted ovulation and oviposition in 90% of females. Corticosterone administration did not adversely affect oviposition or ovulation. Females injected with corticosterone had significantly elevated levels of corticosterone 20 min, 1 h and 2.5 h post-injection and produced significantly more males compared to untreated females. Our results suggest that offspring sex ratios may be influenced at the time of meiotic division by acute exposure to corticosterone and provides evidence for the timing of this effect.