Table 1:
Mean, SEM and sample size for corticosterone, sperm and splenic cell measures as well as average body mass at the end of the study, for each treatment group
| Parameter | Exogenous corticosterone (CORT) group | Undisturbed control (UC) group | Blood-sampled control (BC) group | Combined UC and BC groups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plasma corticosterone (ng/ml), day −5 | 4.0 ± 1.8 (n = 8) | 2.7 ± 1.4 (n = 4) | 2.0 ± 0.6 (n = 4) | 2.3 ± 0.6 (n = 8) |
| Plasma corticosterone (ng/ml), day 4 | 16 ± 4.2 (n = 7) | n.d. | 2.0 ± 0.92 (n = 5) | n.d. |
| Plasma corticosterone (ng/ml), day 7 | 27 ± 4.8 (n = 9) | 3.2 ± 0.92 (n = 5) | 6.2 ± 1.1 (n = 5) | 3.2 ± 0.61 (n = 10) |
| Sperm count (millions) | 8.2 ± 1.4 (n = 10) | 7.6 ± 2.3 (n = 5) | 7.3 ± 3.4 (n = 5) | 7.6 ± 2.2 (n = 10) |
| Sperm viability (% viable) | 88.3 ± 1.2 (n = 8) | 88.4 ± 2.1 (n = 3) | 89.5 ± 2.1 (n = 5) | 89.1 ± 1.4 (n = 8) |
| Splenic cell count (millions) | 1.2 ± 0.36 (n = 10) | 3.2 ± 1.6 (n = 5) | 3.1 ± 1.3 (n = 5) | 3.2 ± 1.0 (n = 10) |
| Mass (g) | 34.40 ± 2.4 | 36.00 ± 2.3 | 34.40 ± 0.24 | 35.20 ± 1.1 |
Undisturbed control animals were not sampled on day 4 and thus no corticosterone data are reported (n.d.). Although most data were transformed for analyses (see main text), raw data are presented for ease of interpretation, and data are presented separately for each group. For analyses, the two control groups were pooled because there were no statistically significant differences between them; pooled values are also shown.