Keith Christoffers <christkh at umdnj.edu> wrote in article
<33231961.1330568 at rwja.umdnj.edu>...
> On Fri, 07 Mar 1997 12:37:20 +0100, michael <wichm at xs4all.nl> wrote:
>> >Are there scientific or theorethical arguments that homosexual
> >inclinations are a benefit for species?
> >
> >Appreciate advice.
> >Alexander Wichmoon
>> Is there any species that you know of in which such a phenomenon is
> present. Do you see homosexual apes aiding in the copulation of
> heterosexual apes? I don't know, it's not a loaded question.
>> Keith Christoffers
I've become rather a neutralist on the subject myself. My current working
hypothesis is that sometimes the mechanisms that enforce sexual preference
break down. The reason it happens as often as it does is that it's simply
not worth the cost in resources to fix.
This was prompted by an article on the egg mimicry in cuckoos. In species
whose nests have been parasitized for a long time, the target birds have
"installed" elaborate "pattern recognition software" to allow them to
reject the eggs of other species. Target birds that have not been subject
to such parasitization do not have such "software", and will nest on almost
anything.
......Karl
