Figure 1.
Body mass dynamics of male chicks raised by hormonally-treated (E2 and CORT) and control zebra finch females.
This higher body mass in E2 male chicks results from a significantly higher body mass gain over the first 30(see text for details). Chicks were measured at hatching and every two days until 30 days of age. Grey dots, black squares and black triangles represent E2, Control and CORT treated chicks, respectively. Means are plotted ± SE and * indicates a significant difference in body mass.
Figure 2.
Effect of the maternal hormonal treatment on ageing markers of chicks from E2-treated females (grey), control females (white) and CORT-treated females (black) zebra finch.
Plasma reactive oxygen metabolites (a), antioxidant capacity (b) and red blood cell telomere loss (c) of chicks are indicated (N = 29∶8 E2, 8 Control and 13 CORT chicks; Means ± SE). Different letters highlight significant inter-group differences (p<0.05). Proper statistical analysis is detailed in the text.
Figure 3.
Path analysis diagrams for intra-group relationships between growth and ageing variables measured on chicks, in response to the hormonal treatment of the reproductive mothers.
Control (a), E2 (b) and CORT group (c). Arrow represent causal link between variables, and standardized estimates (which can be positive or negative) are indicated along their respective paths. The total effect is the sum of direct and indirect effects. Significant paths are indicated by solid arrows while the dashed arrow represents a non-significant path remaining in the selected model. R2 is indicated in the box of each exogenous variable and represents the variation of the endogenous variable (i.e. body mass gain) explained by each corresponding exogenous variables. See text for statistical details. ROMs: reactive oxygen metabolites; OXY: plasma antioxidant capacities.