  We analyse current measurements of accretion rates onto pre-main sequence
stars as a function of stellar mass, and conclude that the steep dependance of
accretion rates on stellar mass is real and not driven by selection/detection
threshold, as has been previously feared. These conclusions are reached by
means of statistical tests including a survival analysis which can account for
upper limits. The power-law slope of the Mdot-M* relation is found to be in the
range of 1.6-1.9 for young stars with masses lower than 1 Msun. The measured
slopes and distributions can be easily reproduced by means of a simple disc
model which includes viscous accretion and X-ray photoevaporation. We conclude
that the Mdot-M* relation in pre-main sequence stars bears the signature of
disc dispersal by X-ray photoevaporation, suggesting that the relation is a
straight- forward consequence of disc physics rather than an imprint of initial
conditions.
