Understanding same-sex sexual behaviour requires thorough testing rather than reinvention of theory

Clive, Jackson; Flintham, Ewan; Savolainen, Vincent

doi:10.1038/s41559-020-1189-3

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…We obtained 55 observations for heterosexual tandems (6, 13, 14, 8, and 14 for colonies A, B, C, E, and F, respectively), which included observations of separation search by 29 leader-females and 26 follower-males. Similarly, we observed 46 female-female same-sex tandems (2,10,13,8,13), with 22 leader-female and 24 followerfemale observations of separation search, and 56 male-male same-sex tandems (6,12,14,8,16), with 29 leader-male and 27 follower-male observations of separation search. We extracted the coordinates of termite movements from all videos using the video-tracking system UMATracker (54).…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 67%

“…behavioral plasticity j collective behavior j leadership j same-sex sexual behavior j tandem runs Same-sex sexual behavior (SSB) is widespread in nonhuman animals, and its evolution has attracted research interest because of its assumed fitness costs (1)(2)(3)(4). Recent theory has suggested that selection against SSB may be constrained by costs of perfect sex recognition, thus maintaining SSB at low levels (5), and ancestral indiscriminate mating has been suggested to underlie the evolutionary origins of SSB (6)(7)(8). However, these arguments overlook an important consideration.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Ancestral sex-role plasticity facilitates the evolution of same-sex sexual behavior

Mizumoto

Bourguignon

Bailey

2022

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Recent attempts to explain the evolutionary prevalence of same-sex sexual behavior (SSB) have focused on the role of indiscriminate mating. However, in many cases, SSB may be more complex than simple mistaken identity, instead involving mutual interactions and successful pairing between partners who can detect each other’s sex. Behavioral plasticity is essential for the expression of SSB in such circumstances. To test behavioral plasticity’s role in the evolution of SSB, we used termites to study how females and males modify their behavior in same-sex versus heterosexual pairs. Male termites follow females in paired “tandems” before mating, and movement patterns are sexually dimorphic. Previous studies observed that adaptive same-sex tandems also occur in both sexes. Here we found that stable same-sex tandems are achieved by behavioral plasticity when one partner adopts the other sex’s movements, resulting in behavioral dimorphism. Simulations based on empirically obtained parameters indicated that this socially cued plasticity contributes to pair maintenance, because dimorphic movements improve reunion success upon accidental separation. A systematic literature survey and phylogenetic comparative analysis suggest that the ancestors of modern termites lack consistent sex roles during pairing, indicating that plasticity is inherited from the ancestor. Socioenvironmental induction of ancestral behavioral potential may be of widespread importance to the expression of SSB. Our findings challenge recent arguments for a prominent role of indiscriminate mating behavior in the evolutionary origin and maintenance of SSB across diverse taxa.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 67%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancestral sex-role plasticity facilitates the evolution of same-sex sexual behavior

Mizumoto

Bourguignon

Bailey

2022

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…We present the optimization model in full in the Supplementary Methods and provide a basic summary of its features here. Our approach explores one of many 34 potential hypotheses for SSB (that it results from indiscriminate mating) without considering the evolution of samesex preferences that have evolved in some vertebrates and may result from complex social or genetic interactions (see Table 2 in Bailey and Zuk 1 ). As a result, and because our model does not make assumptions consistent with sexual behavior in humans, this study should not be considered in relation to human sexuality.…”

Section: Optimization Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Same-sex sexual behavior and selection for indiscriminate mating

Lerch

Servedio

2020

Preprint

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The widespread presence of same-sex sexual behavior (SSB) has long been thought to pose an evolutionary conundrum1-3, as participants in SSB suffer the cost of failing to reproduce after expending the time and energy to find a mate. The potential for SSB to occur as part of an optimal strategy has received almost no attention, although indiscriminate sexual behavior may be the ancestral mode of sexual reproduction4. Here, we build a simple model of sexual reproduction and create a theoretical framework for the evolution of indiscriminate sexual behavior. We provide strong support for the hypothesis that SSB is likely maintained by selection for indiscriminate sexual behavior, by showing that indiscriminate mating is the optimal strategy under a wide range of conditions. Further, our model suggests that the conditions that most strongly favor indiscriminate mating were likely present at the origin of sexual behavior. These findings have implications not only for the evolutionary origins of SSB, but also for the evolution of discriminate sexual behavior across the animal kingdom.

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“…Same-sex sexual behaviour (SSB) is widespread in non-human animals, and its evolution has attracted research interest because of its assumed fitness costs [1][2][3][4]. Recent theory has suggested that selection for indiscriminate mating can maintain SSB [5], and ancestral indiscriminate mating has been suggested to underlie the evolutionary origins of SSB [6][7][8]. However, these arguments overlook an important consideration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancestral sex-role plasticity facilitates the evolution of same-sex sexual behaviour

Mizumoto

Bourguignon

Bailey

2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent attempts to explain the evolutionary prevalence of same-sex sexual behaviour (SSB) have focused on the role of indiscriminate mating. However, in many cases, SSB involves plastically adjusting sex roles to achieve successful courtship or pairing. To evaluate this overlooked factor, we tested whether ancestral sex-role plasticity facilitated the evolution of SSB in the termite Reticulitermes speratus. Male termites follow females in paired tandems before mating, and movement patterns are sexually dimorphic. Adaptive same-sex tandems occur in both sexes. We show that in such cases, one partner adopts the other sexs movement patterns, resulting in behavioural dimorphism. Data-based simulations confirmed that this socially-cued plasticity contributes to pair maintenance because dimorphic movements improve reunion success upon accidental separation. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the ancestors of modern termites lack consistent sex roles during pairing, indicating that R. speratus inherited the plasticity from the ancestor. Socio-environmental induction of ancestral behavioural potential may be of widespread importance to the evolutionary maintenance of SSB.

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Understanding same-sex sexual behaviour requires thorough testing rather than reinvention of theory

Cited by 9 publications

References 12 publications

Ancestral sex-role plasticity facilitates the evolution of same-sex sexual behavior

Ancestral sex-role plasticity facilitates the evolution of same-sex sexual behavior

Same-sex sexual behavior and selection for indiscriminate mating

Ancestral sex-role plasticity facilitates the evolution of same-sex sexual behaviour

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