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A few studies have been used to promote the idea that prostitution exists among different species of animals such as Adélie penguins and chimpanzees.〔(Prostitution in animals ). ''The Cambridge Student''〕 Penguins use stones for building their nests. Based on a 1998 study, media reports stated〔 that a shortage of stones led female Adélie penguins〔McKee, Maggie (2005-01-02) (Mating in a Material World ), National Wildlife Federation〕〔 to trade sex for stones. Some pair-bonded female penguins copulate with males who are not their mates and then take pebbles for their own nests.〔 Chimpanzees who seem to be trading food for sex are also said by some to be engaging in prostitution.〔 ==Penguins== Prostitution in animals was first reported in 1998 by Fiona Hunter, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, and Lloyd Davis of the University of Otago, who had spent five years observing the mating behavior of Adélie penguins. The study was conducted as part of an Antarctica New Zealand programme on the Ross Island, approximately from the South Pole.〔 According to the report about the study published by BBC News Online, some female penguins sneak around on their partners. These prostitutes have sex with unattached males and take a pebble from the male's nest after having sex. Or they sometimes perform the courtship ritual as a trick and grab a stone without the sex (in the actual study the researchers speculate that the female has bent over to grab a stone and the male has misinterpreted the gesture--she hasn't changed her mind or performed a trick). BBC further reported Hunter as saying that the female penguins probably didn't engage in prostitution only for stones. Hunter believed "what they are doing is having copulation for another reason and just taking the stones as well. We don't know exactly why, but they are using the males". This behavior was also suggested as a mate choice process by which the females might find a possible future mate. This would provide a female penguin with another male penguin should their current mate die. The male penguins, the study speculates, were engaged in sex with the prostitute females only for sexual satisfaction. According to Hunter's observation, the number of prostitute penguins was very low, and she approximated this as "only a few percent".〔 While the sensationalized versions of the study emphasize prostitution, the research data itself is less sensational. The data show that when extrapair copulation occurs at the male's nesting site, the female takes one or more stones; but when the extrapair copulation occurs at the female's nesting site, the male never takes a stone. Clearly a male who has copulated with a female benefits his progeny when she takes a stone. Sometimes copulation doesn't occur, but the female still takes a stone. But both males and females steal stones: sometimes they get away with it and sometimes they are attacked. The benefit of gaining stones without a fight is clear, but the female is not always willing to copulate to avoid a fight. The researchers speculate about the possible genetic fitness advantages and disadvantages of the practice, and aren't altogether sure that the female copulates mainly in order to obtain a stone. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Prostitution among animals」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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