ReviewNature ecology & evolution2019
An alternative hypothesis for the evolution of same-sex sexual behaviour in animals.
Review in Nature ecology & evolution, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 46 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 125 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multivariate Models of Animal Sex: Breaking Binaries Leads to a Better Understanding of Ecology and Evolution.Integrative and comparative biology · 2023Pooled it
- The role of intrasexual competition on the evolution of male-male courtship display: a systematic review.PeerJ · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of sexual pairing pattern on behaviour and reproductive performance in domestic pigeons.Poultry science · 2026Article
- Same-Sex Sexual Behavior in Invertebrates: A Systematic Synthesis of Prevalence, Study Type, and Interpretation.Insects · 2026Review
- Inclusive Biology Curriculum Interventions can Reduce High School Students' Bioessentialist Beliefs.CBE life sciences education · 2026Article
- Male Choice Hypothesis: Shortcomings, Inconsistencies, and Proposed Alternatives.Archives of sexual behavior · 2026Review
- Prevalence of Same-Sex Sexual Behavior in Termites: Persistence Under Mate-Seeking Stress Absence.Insects · 2026Article
- Rethinking same-sex sexual behavior: From sensory error to social function.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Multispecies analysis of social effects on same-sex sexual behavior challenges mistaken identity hypotheses in insects.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Where We Go From Here: Harnessing Queer Perspectives to Advance Practice in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Ecological and social pressures drive same-sex sexual behaviour in non-human primates.Nature ecology & evolution · 2026Article
- Drivers of same-sex sexual behaviour.Nature ecology & evolution · 2026Article
- Evolution, Development, and the Incoherence of Sex: A Framework for Multiple Sex Concepts.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Article
- The Evolution of Same-sex Sexual Behavior: Using Old Theory to Answer New Questions.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Review
- Hermaphrodite, Gonochorist, and More: Navigating the Complexities of Sex-Related Language in Biology.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Review
- Sex and Gender Identities Are Emergent Properties of Neural Complexity.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Outdated reproductive norms, the naturalistic fallacy, and misunderstandings of welfare in recent call for zoo breed-and-feed programs.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Reply to Ferraro et al.: Breed-and-feed reflects inevitable trade-offs between individual longevity and population sustainability.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- The Search for Love in Human Evolution: Primate Social Bonds and a New Science of Emotion.American journal of biological anthropology · 2025Review
- Relationship Status Rather than Sociosexuality or Sexual Orientation Predicts Male Sexual Functioning.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Same-sex sexual behaviour (SSB) has been recorded in over 1,500 animal species with a widespread distribution across most major clades. Evolutionary biologists have long sought to uncover the adaptive origins of 'homosexual behaviour' in an attempt to resolve this apparent Darwinian paradox: how has SSB repeatedly evolved and persisted despite its presumed fitness costs? This question implicitly assumes that 'heterosexual' or exclusive different-sex sexual behaviour (DSB) is the baseline condition for animals, from which SSB has evolved. We question the idea that SSB necessarily presents an evolutionary conundrum, and suggest that the literature includes unchecked assumptions regarding the costs, benefits and origins of SSB. Instead, we offer an alternative null hypothesis for the evolutionary origin of SSB that, through a subtle shift in perspective, moves away from the expectation that the origin and maintenance of SSB is a problem in need of a solution. We argue that the frequently implicit assumption of DSB as ancestral has not been rigorously examined, and instead hypothesize an ancestral condition of indiscriminate sexual behaviours directed towards all sexes. By shifting the lens through which we study animal sexual behaviour, we can more fruitfully examine the evolutionary history of diverse sexual strategies.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.