Homosexual Behaviour in Animals
An Evolutionary Perspective

This book explores evolutionary aspects of same-sex sexual behaviour in animals.

Volker Sommer (Edited by), Paul L. Vasey (Edited by)

9780521182300, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 17 February 2011

394 pages
24.4 x 17 x 2.1 cm, 0.63 kg

'… the book … gives readers a useful foundation for understanding key findings and research trajectories that are applicable to any species. … I highly recommend this book to scholars, but also to anyone wishing to broaden their understanding of this perfectly natural and fascinating facet of animal behaviour, including our own species.' F. Blake Morton, The Primate Eye

Behavioural observations from both the field and captivity indicate that same-sex sexual interactions are widespread throughout the animal kingdom, and occur quite frequently in certain non-human species. Proximate studies of these phenomena have yielded important insights into genetic, hormonal and neural correlates. In contrast, there has been a relative paucity of research on the evolutionary aspects. Homosexual Behaviour in Animals seeks to redress this imbalance by exploring animal same-sex sexual behaviour from an evolutionary perspective. Contributions focus on animals that routinely engage in homosexual behaviour and include birds, dolphin, deer, bison and cats, as well as monkeys and apes, such as macaques, gorillas and bonobos. A final chapter looks at human primates. This book will appeal to graduate students and researchers in evolutionary biology, biological anthropology, zoology, evolutionary psychology, animal behaviour and anyone interested in the current state of knowledge in this area of behavioural studies.

Part I. Introduction: 1. Homosexuality in animals. Topics, hypotheses, and research trajectories Volker Sommer and Paul L. Vasey
Part II. Non-primates: 2. Making the best of a bad situation. Homosociality in male greylag geese Kurt Kotrschal, Josef Hemetsberger and Brigitte Weiss
3. Pink flamingos. Atypical partnerships and sexual activity in colonially breeding birds Catherine E. King
4. Establishing trust. Sociosexual behaviour and the development of male-male bonds among Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphins Janet Mann
5. Going with the herd. Same-sex interaction and competition in American bison Hilde Vervaecke and Catherine Roden
6. Exciting ungulates. Male-male mounting in fallow, white-tailed and red deer Ludek Bartos and Jana Holeckova
7. Frustrated felines. Sexual mounting between males in feral cats Akihiro Yamane
Part III. Primates: 8. The pursuit of pleasure. An evolutionary history of homosexual behaviour in Japanese macaques Paul L. Vasey
9. Getting to know you. Female-female consortships in free-ranging rhesus monkeys Ellen Kapsalis and Rodney L. Johnson
10. A wild mixture of motivations. Same-sex mounting in Indian langur monkeys Volker Sommer, Peter Schauer and Diana Kyriazis
11. Playful encounters. The development of homosexual behavior in male mountain gorillas Juichi Yamagiwa
12. Social grease for females? Same-sex genital contacts in wild bonobos Barbara Fruth and Gottfried Hohmann
13. The evolution of male homosexuality and its implications for human psychological and cultural variations Dennis Werner
Part IV. Outlooks: Science and Beyond: 14. Where do we go from here? Research on the evolution of homosexual behaviour in animals Paul L. Vasey
15. Against nature?! An epilogue about animal sex and the moral dimension Volker Sommer
Acknowledgements.

Subject Areas: Animal behaviour [PSVP]