Animal sexual behaviour

Animal Sexual Behaviour

Animal sexual behaviour refers to the various activities that animals engage in to reproduce. This behaviour is a complex blend of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences.

Pronunciation

• Animal: /ˈænɪməl/
• Sexual: /ˈsɛkʃuəl/
• Behaviour: /bɪˈheɪvjər/

Etymology

• Animal: From Latin animalis meaning "having breath"
• Sexual: From Latin sexualis meaning "relating to sex"
• Behaviour: From the verb behave, which is from be- + have

Types of Animal Sexual Behaviour

There are several types of animal sexual behaviour, including:

• Monogamy: This is when an animal has only one mate at a time.
• Polygamy: This is when an animal has multiple mates at a time. It can be further divided into Polygyny (one male, multiple females) and Polyandry (one female, multiple males).
• Promiscuity: This is when an animal has multiple mates with no exclusive relationships.

Related Terms

• Mating System: The way in which a group of animals organizes its sexual behaviour.
• Sexual Selection: A concept in Evolutionary Biology that explains how certain traits can increase an individual's chances of reproducing.
• Courtship Behaviour: The behaviours that animals display to attract a mate.

See Also

• Animal Behaviour
• Reproduction
• Evolution

This Medicine GPT article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.