Sexual_segregation_(biology)

Sexual segregation (biology)

Sexual segregation (biology)

Add article description


In biology, sexual segregation is the differential use of space, habitats, and resources by males and females, or the separation of males and females into different social groups outside the breeding season. Sexual segregation is widespread among animals, especially among vertebrates that live in groups, and has also been observed in plants.[1][2][3][4] It was first formally proposed by Charles Darwin in his book The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex.[1]

Definition

Sexual segregation has traditionally been defined as the differential use of space (spatial segregation) or habitat (habitat segregation) by males and females. Recently, it has also been defined as the separation of males and females into different social groups (social segregation) outside the breeding season. Some authors consider social segregation to be a by-product of habitat segregation but it is now known that social segregation can occur independently of habitat segregation.[1][2][5] Conradt (2005) argued that spatial segregation should be treated as a auxiliary concept as both habitat segregation and social segregation can lead to spatial segregation.[6]


References

  1. Bowyer, R. Terry (21 December 2004). "Sexual Segregation in Ruminants: Definitions, Hypotheses, and Implications for Conservation and Management". Journal of Mammalogy. 85 (6). Oxford University Press: 1039–1052. doi:10.1644/BBL-002.1.
  2. Santora, Tara (2 June 2020). "Should Ecologists Treat Male and Female Animals like 'Different Species'". Scientific American. Springer Nature. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Sexual_segregation_(biology), and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.