Data from: Retracted: Experimental evidence that maternal corticosterone controls adaptive offspring sex ratios

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN RETRACTED 1. Sex allocation theory has received considerable attention, yet the mechanism(s) by which mothers skew offspring sex ratios remain unknown. In birds, females are the heterogametic sex, which potentially gives them control of whether gametes will be male or female. How females might control the sex of the gamete is unclear, but one possibility is that variation in steroid hormones may mediate this process. 2. We experimentally altered circulating levels of corticosterone in female Gouldian finches (Erythrura gouldiae), a species that demonstrates both extreme stress responses and extreme offspring sex ratio biases when breeding with a low-quality (genetically-incompatible) partner. 3. During egg production, individual females received both corticosterone and metyrapone (a corticosterone-synthesis inhibitor) implants, in random order, to induce both high and low levels of circulating stress hormones (within physiological limits). 4. We found that females with elevated corticosterone levels produced male-biased sex ratios, but when the same females were treated with metyrapone they produced female-biased offspring sex ratios. 5. These stress responses are adaptive because females constrained to breeding with low-quality males can substantially increase their fitness by overproducing sons. Changes in maternal corticosterone levels during stressful situations, such as the quality of a breeding partner, may provide an endocrine mechanism that can be exploited for strategic sex allocation.

Usage Notes
Pryke et al. FE-2013-00301Following concerns raised by the authors of the above article, a review carried out by Macquarie University revealed that there were inconsistencies between the available dataset and the results reported in the article. The dataset archived with Dryad is incomplete, and it has not been possible to review original data files. Hence, the validity of the results could not be verified, and the article has been retracted.

本文已被撤回。1. 性别分配理论虽已引起广泛关注，然而，母亲调整后代性别比例的机制尚未明了。在鸟类中，雌性为异配性别，这或许赋予她们控制配子性别（雄性或雌性）的能力。雌性如何控制配子的性别尚不明确，但一种可能性是类固醇激素的变异可能调节这一过程。（Sex allocation theory，heterogametic sex，gametes）。
2. 我们通过实验手段改变了雌性古尔德金丝雀（Erythrura gouldiae）体内循环的皮质酮水平，该物种在与低质量（基因不兼容）的伴侣繁殖时，既表现出极端的压力反应，也表现出极端的后代性别比例偏差。
3. 在产蛋期间，随机顺序地给个体雌性植入皮质酮和美他拉宗（皮质酮合成抑制剂），以诱导循环应激激素水平的高低（在生理范围内）。
4. 我们发现，皮质酮水平升高的雌性产生了偏雄性的性别比例，但当这些雌性接受美他拉宗治疗后，则产生了偏雌性的后代性别比例。
5. 这些压力反应具有适应性，因为被迫与低质量雄性繁殖的雌性可以通过超生儿子来显著提高其适应性。在压力情境下，如繁殖伴侣的质量变化，母体皮质酮水平的改变可能提供了一个内分泌机制，该机制可被用于策略性的性别分配。

使用说明
Pryke 等人 FE-2013-00301。鉴于对上述文章作者的担忧，由麦考瑞大学进行的一项审查发现，可用的数据集与文章中报告的结果之间存在不一致。与 Dryad 存档的数据集不完整，且无法审查原始数据文件。因此，无法验证结果的可靠性，故该文章已被撤回。