Mathematical toy model inspired by the problem of the adaptive origins of the sexual orientation continuum
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Skinner-2016-Mathematical toy model inspired b.pdf
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558.53 KB
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Author(s)
Skinner, Brian J
Date Issued
September 2016
Journal
Royal Society Open Science
Publisher
Royal Society
Citation
Skinner, Brian. “Mathematical Toy Model Inspired by the Problem of the Adaptive Origins of the Sexual Orientation Continuum.” Royal Society Open Science 3.9 (2016): 160403.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Same-sex sexual behaviour is ubiquitous in the animal kingdom, but its adaptive origins remain a prominent puzzle. Here, I suggest the possibility that same-sex sexual behaviour arises as a consequence of the competition between an evolutionary drive for a wide diversity in traits, which improves the adaptability of a population, and a drive for sexual dichotomization of traits, which promotes opposite-sex attraction and increases the rate of reproduction. This trade-off is explored via a simple mathematical ‘toy model’. The model exhibits a number of interesting features and suggests a simple mathematical form for describing the sexual orientation continuum.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research Laboratory of Electronics
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160403
