2023-10-04 10:14:13
Updated Wednesday, October 4, 2023 – 10:14
This behavior is a way of establishing, maintaining and reinforcing social relationships that can increase bonds and alliances.
Two Bono females in a sexual encounter.EM
He homosexual behavior in mammals it occurs more frequently in social species whose individuals interact within a same group. This is stated by a team led by the Experimental Station for Arid Zones (EEZA), of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), and with the participation of researchers from the University of Granada and the Desertification Research Center (CIDE), a mixed institution. from the CSIC, the University of Valencia (UV) and the Generalitat Valenciana.
The work, published this Tuesday in the journal ‘Nature Communications’, suggests that sexual behavior between individuals of the same group, prevalent in the case of primatesplays an important role in establishing and maintaining your links.
Homosexual behaviors in nonhuman mammals, defined as “transitory behaviors that are normally performed at some point during reproduction with a member of the opposite sex, but that are instead directed at members of the same sex,” have attracted widespread attention. from disciplines as diverse as sociology, psychology, zoology, evolutionary biology or behavioral ecology. Since it does not contribute directly to reproduction, if he considers it an evolutionary enigma.
According to researchers, sexual behavior between individuals of the same sex is a common trend in mammals, recorded so far in 5% of species and 50% of families. Furthermore, males and females practice it with similar prevalence.
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Animal world.
Homosexual behavior among male macaques is common and hereditary
Homosexual behavior among male macaques is common and hereditary
According to currently available data, it is not randomly distributed among mammalian lineages, but rather tends to be prevalent in some casesespecially in primates, where it has been observed in at least 51 species, from lmurs to apes.
While in some species this is incidental and only occurs in very specific situations, homosexual behavior in 40% of mammal species is a moderate or even frequent activity during the mating season.
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On the other hand, the study has detected a significant association, at the species level, between the occurrence of sexual behavior between individuals of the same sex and social behavior, in both males and females. Thus, social species are the ones most likely to exhibit these types of interactions.
These results support the hypothesis that this sexual behavior has been evolutionarily favored as a way of establishing, maintaining and reinforcing social relationships that can increase ties and alliances between members of the same group.
“Our study suggests that same-sex sexual behavior exhibited by non-human mammals, rather than aberrant or maladaptive behavior, is an adaptation “which plays an important role in maintaining social relationships in both sexes and mitigating conflicts mainly between males,” indicates Jose Mara Gmezmain author of the work and researcher at the Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology of the EEZA-CSIC.
This comparative phylogenetic analysis has also found a relationship between this sexual behavior and intrasexual violence, in this case only for males. Species whose males are more violent are more likely to exhibit this sexual behavior at some point in their lives.
“According to available data, this behavior is not randomly distributed among mammalian lineages, but rather tends to be particularly prevalent in some groups, especially primates, where it has been observed in at least 51 species, from lemurs to apes,” highlights Adela Gonzalezco-author of the study and researcher at the University of Granada.
Miguel Greenfrom the Desertification Research Center, concludes: “Evolution has left us a trace of incalculable value to understand this behavior in nature.”
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