Friday, June 19th, 2009

Same-Sex Behavior in the Animal Kingdom

A female-female pair of Laysan Albatross. Females cooperatively build nests and rear young when males are scarce. Photo credit: Eric VanderWerf.

A review of the literature suggests that same-sex behaviors may occur in many animal species. Writing in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution, researchers at the University of California Riverside say that their review suggests that same-sex behavior is a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom, common across species, from worms to frogs to birds. Bonobos, dolphins, penguins and fruit flies are all very different species that all exhibit some form of same-sex behavior, although the specific form of that behavior can vary greatly from species to species, from courtship to mounting to parenting. We'll talk with one of the authors of the article about research in the field, and how it ties into larger questions about evolutionary selection.