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Gay sex universal in animal kingdom
By: Nigel Robinson
Laysan albatrosses
Laysan albatrosses
Man-on-man and girl-on-girl action is almost universal in the animal world
And according to a new report, same-sex couplings in the animal kingdom may even have an evolutionary benefit.
In a paper published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution magazine, biologist Nathan Bailey writes that homosexual behavior can have evolutionary consequences that actually further the survival of some species.
For example, a third of all Laysan albatross chicks Hawaii are raised by female couples. The colony has a drastic shortage of males, so by sharing parental responsibility, the same-sex pairs ensure the stability of the population.
Male-to-male couplings amongst locusts can also be costly for the mounted partner, thereby killing off the weaker males, while same-sex behaviour among dolphins helps facilitate group bonding.
“It’s clear that same-sex sexual behaviour extends far beyond the well-known examples that dominate both the scientific and popular literature – for example, bonobos, dolphins, penguins and fruit flies,” Bailey said.
“Same-sex behaviour – courtship, mounting or parenting –are traits that may have been shaped by natural selection, a basic mechanism of evolution that occurs over successive generations.”
