I was referring to strict homosexuality in humans. Granted, there probably are
cases in which children of a (perhaps deceased) sibling or other close relative
would be raised by a homosexual, thus raising his or her inclusive fitness, but
such cases would be rare. The Darwinian fitness of a strict homosexual is, as a
rule, zero. Helpers at the nest do forgo their own reproduction to help
relatives raise offspring, but, as far as I know, there is no requirement for
them to be homosexual.
Tom Culliney
From: Jonathan Colburn [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2013 10:05 AM
To: Culliney, Thomas W - APHIS
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Exclusive homosexuality
Hi Tom,
Respectfully, the Darwinian fitness sounds like inclusive fitness, which is
often measured by reproductive success. However, reproductive success of a
homosexual is not always a good measure of their inclusive fitness (e.g.
helpers at the nest). Ultimately, any action that staves off fixation of
alleles to zero is about as close as we can come to determining that something
is inclusively fit...
On Mar 28, 2013 9:20 AM, "Culliney, Thomas W - APHIS"
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
I note that the albatross article mentioned the words "natural" and "normal."
Homosexuality certainly is natural, as it occurs in nature, in animals from groups ranging from
arthropods to mammals (who knows what goes on in the plant kingdom?). In all cases, there appears
to be an adaptive reason for the behavior. However, in its reproductive consequences, exclusive or
strict homosexuality, as exhibited in humans, cannot be considered normal sexual behavior. The
Darwinian fitness of homosexuals is zero. To the extent that there is a genetic component to the
behavior in humans, with their diverse sexuality, the trait undoubtedly persists in the population
largely through the actions of bisexual individuals leading to the production of offspring.
The above is an argument strictly from a biological perspective, and is not a
moral judgment. What two consenting adults do in private is their own business
and no one else's.
Tom Culliney
-----Original Message-----
From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news
[mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf
Of Kristen Dybala
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 10:55 PM
To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Expedition notice and question
Laysan albatrosses are a fairly well-known example. Here's a (lengthy) article
describing it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/magazine/04animals-t.html?pagewanted=all
-Kristen
On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 6:53 PM, Merav Vonshak
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
This story reminds me of a similar story - a male pair of Griffon
vultures (Gyps fulvus). They incubated eggs and reared other pairs'
youngs as part of a breeding in captivity effort in Israel some years ago.
Merav
Merav Vonshak
Postdoctoral Fellow
Gordon Laboratory
Department of Biology
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-5020
Phone: 650-725-6791<tel:650-725-6791>
email: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
http://www.stanford.edu/~mvonshak
On 27, Mar2013, at 12:08 PM, Montblanc, Genie wrote:
WT,
Since I don't study this, I'm giving a, "What I've heard in the news,"
response. There were two stories awhile back, both relating to
animals in captivity, about homosexual pair bonding. One was with
penguins, I think they also raised a chick together, and the other was
with dolphins. Given that long-term pair bonding only occurs in 8-11
species in the entire animal kingdom, the question might be moot anyway.
That is my inexpert response. Have a great expedition!
Génie
Eugénie MontBlanc
Great Basin Fire Science Delivery Coordinator University of
Nevada/Mail Stop 0186, Reno, NV 89557
Phone: 775-784-1107<tel:775-784-1107> (Fax: -1109)
Email: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Web: www.gbfiresci.org<http://www.gbfiresci.org>
Twitter: @GBfirescience
-----Original Message-----
From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of Wayne
Tyson
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 10:32 AM
To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Expedition notice and question
[NOTE:] I will be on expedition (with a stop at the National Native
Seed
Conference in Santa Fe NM on April 10) until the two weeks at the end
of April and the first week of May, then gone again beginning the 2nd
week of May until around May 24. I will not be checking email during
those periods, but will respond to as many email messages as possible
during those hiatuses. A third expedition following those is likely,
but the period of hiatus is iffy.]
Here is my parting question. Please feel free to post it on other lists.
Re: Homosexuality in animals other than Homo sapiens. We know that
homosexual behavior occurs in other species in some forms (Bonobo
chimpanzees [Pan paniscus], for example), and we know that
hermaphrodites of some species fertilize each other simultaneously.
But my question is in which species other than humans, does EXCLUSIVE
homosexuality, especially in the form of pair bonds, occur?
WT
I'll pick up my answers in late April. If I have time, I may be able
to
respond to some today. Please respond on-list, and not to me personally.
--
----------------------------------------------------------
Kristen Dybala, Post-doctoral Researcher Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology
University of California, Davis
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
(415) 218-9295<tel:%28415%29%20218-9295> - cell
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