of prey, a male-biased sex ratio was seen. This appeared to be adaptive because females demonstrated higher reproductive success when prey density was high, whereas males did not appear to have any reproductive advantage with high prey density. Appleby hypothesized that parents should adjust the sex ratio of their offspring based on the availability of food, with a female sex bias in areas of high prey density and a male sex bias in areas of low prey density. The results support the Trivers-Willard model, as parents produced more of the sex that benefited most from plentiful resources. Wiebe and Bortolotti (1992) observed sex ratio adjustment in a sexually dimorphic (by size) population of American kestrels (Falco sparverius). In general, the larger sex in a species requires more resources than the smaller sex during development and is thus more costly for parents to raise. Wiebe and Bortolotti provided evidence that kestral parents produced more of the smaller (less costly) sex given limited food resources and more of the larger (more costly) sex given an abundance of food resources. These findings modify the Trivers-Willard hypothesis by suggesting sex ratio allocation can be biased by sexual size dimorphism as well as parental conditions. Maternal condition or quality A study by Clutton-Brock (1984) on red deer (Cervus elaphus), a polygynous species, examined the effects of dominance rank and maternal quality on female breeding success and sex ratios of offspring. Based on the Trivers-Willard model, Clutton-Brock hypothesized that the sex ratio of mammalian offspring may change according to maternal condition, where high-ranked females should produce more male offspring and low-ranked females should produce more female offspring. This is based on the assumption that high-ranked females are in better condition, so that they have more access to resources and can afford to invest more in their offspring. In the study, high-ranked females were shown to give birth to healthier offspring than low-ranked females, and the offspring of high-ranked females also developed into healthier adults. Clutton-Brock suggested that the advantage of being a healthy adult was more beneficial for male offspring because stronger males are more capable of defending harems of females during breeding seasons. Therefore, Clutton-Brock proposed that males produced by females in better conditions are more likely to have greater reproductive success in the future than males produced by females in poorer conditions. These findings support the Trivers-Willard hypothesis, as parental quality affected the sex