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Moscovice, LR, Surbeck, M, Fruth, B, Hohmann, G, Jaeggi, AV and Deschner, T (2019) The cooperative sex: Sexual interactions among female bonobos are linked to increases in oxytocin, proximity and coalitions. Hormones and Behavior, 116. ISSN 0018-506X
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Abstract
In some species habitual same-sex sexual behavior co-occurs with high levels of intra-sexual alliance formation, suggesting that these behaviors may be linked. We tested for such a link by comparing behavioral and physiological outcomes of sex with unrelated same- and opposite-sex partners in female bonobos (Pan paniscus). We analyzed behavioral outcomes following 971 sexual events involving n = 19 female and n = 8 male adult and sub-adult members of a wild, habituated bonobo community. We additionally collected n = 143 urine samples before and after sexual interactions to non-invasively measure oxytocin (OT), which modulates female sexual behavior and facilitates cooperation in other species. The majority of sexual events (65%) consisted of female same-sex genito-genital rubbing (or GG-rubbing). Female dyads engaged in significantly more sexual interactions than did inter-sexual dyads, and females were more likely to remain within close proximity to their partners following GG-rubbing. Females also exhibited greater increases in urinary OT following GG-rubbing compared with copulations, indicating a physiological basis for increased motivation to cooperate among females. The frequency of coalitionary support among non-kin was positively predicted by the frequency of sexual interactions for female as well opposite-sex dyads, although coalitionary support tended to be more frequent among females. The emergence of habitual same-sex sexual behavior may have been an important step in the evolution of cooperation outside of kinship and pair-bonds in one of our closest phylogenetic relatives.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | 11 Medical and Health Sciences, 06 Biological Sciences |
| Subjects: | Q Science > QL Zoology |
| Divisions: | Biological & Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19) |
| Publisher: | Elsevier |
| Related URLs: | |
| Date Deposited: | 16 Jan 2020 11:10 |
| Last Modified: | 04 Sep 2021 08:07 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104581 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/12039 |
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