Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://biore.bio.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/201
Title: A prison effect in a wild population: a scarcity of females induces homosexual behaviors in males
Other Titles: Same-sex sexual behaviors in wild tortoises
Authors: Bonnet, Xavier
Golubović, Ana 
Arsovski, Dragan
Đorđević, Sonja 
Ballouard, Jean-Marie
Sterijovski, Bogoljub
Ajtić, Rastko
Barbraud, Christophe
Tomović, Ljiljana 
Keywords: ecophysiology;reptiles;sex ratio;testosterone;tortoise
Issue Date: 20-Mar-2016
Project: Diversity of the amphibians and reptiles on the Balkan Peninsula: evolutionary and conservation aspects 
Journal: Behavioral Ecology
Abstract: 
The high frequency of same-sex sexual behaviors (SSB) in free-ranging animals is an evolutionary puzzle because fitness benefits are often unclear in an evolutionary context. Moreover, the physiological and genetic underpinnings of SSB remain unclear. We exploited an extraordinary natural experiment to examine the impact of environmental factors (local sex ratio [SR]) and testosterone (T) levels on SSB in a dense population of Hermann’s tortoises monitored for 7 years. Under the combination of high density and extremely skewed SR (~50 females, >1000 males), males courted and mounted other males more frequently than females. They even exhibited extravagant sexual behaviors, attempting to copulate with dead conspecifics, empty shells, and stones. T levels remained within the species’ normal range of variation. SSB was not observed in other populations where SR is not, or less skewed, and where density is lower. This study reports the first natural example of a “prison effect,” whereby a high population density combined with female deprivation triggered SSB as a mere outlet of sexual stimulation. More generally, it supports the hypothesis that SSB can be a nonadaptive consequence of unusual proximate factors rather than reflecting physiological disorders.
URI: https://biore.bio.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/201
DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw023
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