研究表明，同性行為可以追溯到動物進化的根源

研究表明，同性行為可以追溯到動物進化的根源

A study published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution posits that researchers should be asking “why not?” instead of why in terms of animals engaging in same-sex behavior (SSB).

周一發(fā)表在《自然生態(tài)與進化》(Nature Ecology & Evolution)雜志上的一項研究認為，研究人員應該問“為什么不呢?”而不是為什么動物會有同性行為(SSB)。

“Usually, when evolutionary biologists see a trait that’s really widespread across evolutionary lineages, we at least consider the idea that the trait is ancestral and was preserved in all those lineages,” Julia Monk, a doctoral candidate at Yale University, who co-authored the new research, told Live Science. “So why hadn’t people considered that hypothesis for SSB?”

“通常，當進化生物學家看到一種特征在進化譜系中非常普遍時，我們至少會認為這種特征是祖先留下的，并保存在所有這些譜系中，”耶魯大學(Yale University)的博士生朱莉婭·蒙克(Julia Monk)在接受《生活科學》(Live Science)采訪時表示。“那么為什么人們沒有考慮到SSB的假設呢?”

According to Live Science, researchers have seen same-sex sexual behavior as posing a conflict: Scientists have wondered why animals would spend time doing something sexual that doesn’t involve passing on their genes to future generations. Still, same-sex sexual behavior has been seen in 1,500 species.

據《生活科學》報道，研究人員認為同性性行為會引發(fā)沖突:科學家們想知道，為什么動物會花時間做一些與性有關的事情，而不把自己的基因遺傳給后代。盡管如此，在1500個物種中已經發(fā)現(xiàn)了同性性行為。

The scientists make a point in their study of not using words like “gay” or “straight” or any term that humans use to describe sexuality.

科學家們在他們的研究中強調，不要使用“同性戀”或“異性戀”等字眼，也不要使用任何人類用來描述性行為的詞匯。

The researchers hypothesize that the oldest sexually reproducing animals tried to mate with any or all members of their species, regardless of sex.

研究人員假設，最古老的有性繁殖動物試圖與任何或所有同類交配，而不考慮性別。

According to Live Science, the authors argue that this path could’ve made sense as a way to compensate for the fact that distinguishing traits between males and females are “energetically costly” to evolve.

根據《生活科學》雜志的報道，作者們認為，這條路可能是有意義的，因為它可以彌補這樣一個事實，即區(qū)分男性和女性的特征在進化過程中“耗費了大量精力”。

Caitlin McDonough, a study co-author and doctoral candidate at Syracuse University, said the new hypothesis undercuts old assumptions about same-sex behavior, including the notion that it is costly in comparison with different-sex behavior.

雪城大學(Syracuse University)的博士研究生、該研究的合著者凱特琳?麥克多諾(Caitlin McDonough)說，新的假設削弱了關于同性行為的舊假設，包括與不同的性行為相比，同性行為代價高昂的概念。

“You really need to go through those assumptions and test the costs and benefits of both behaviors in a system,” McDonough said.

麥克多諾說:“你真的需要仔細考慮這些假設，并測試一個系統(tǒng)中這兩種行為的成本和收益。”

Monk said that if same-sex behaviors go back to the roots of animal evolution, the fact that these behaviors are so common today makes sense.

蒙克說，如果同性行為可以追溯到動物進化的根源，那么這些行為在今天如此普遍是有道理的。