Scientists Closer to Understanding Gay Behavior in Animals
and birds, with over 50 species of non-human primates commonly showing these behaviors.A new study in the journal Nature Communications reveals that same-sex sexual behavior has multiple evolutionary origins across mammal species and was more likely to be seen in social species, indicating that it may have evolved to help establish and maintain positive social relationships.They also found that it was similarly prevalent in both males and females, but male same-sex sexual behavior was more likely to evolve in species where adults of the species sometimes kill each other, suggesting that it may be an adaptation to manage violence between males."An across-species statistical association [was found] between same-sex sexual behavior and social behavior for males and for females, and with intrasexual aggression for males," study author and behavioral ecology researcher at Estación Experimental de Zonas Aridas (EEZA-CSIC) in Spain, José M.
Gómez, told Newsweek.The study analyzed the existing literature about same-sex sexual behavior, with the authors compiling a database of the behavior, tracing its evolution across mammals, and testing for evolutionary relationships with other behaviors."We started with more than 1,000 species, but we were removing species from the analyses according to some methodological criteria," Gomez said.
