Error Thresholds in Genetic Algorithms

The error threshold of replication is an important notion of the quasispecies evolution model; it is a critical mutation rate (error rate) beyond which structures obtained by an evolutionary process are destroyed more frequently than selection can reproduce them. With mutation rates above this critical value, an error catastrophe occurs and the genomic information is irretrievably lost. Therefore, studying the factors that alter this magnitude has important implications in the study of evolution. Here we use a genetic algorithm, instead of the quasispecies model, as the underlying model of evolution, and explore the existence of error thresholds on complex landscapes. We also study the effect of modifying the most prominent evolutionary parameters on the magnitude of this critical value. Error thresholds were found to depend mainly on the selection pressure and genotype length. Our empirical study verifies the occurrence of error thresholds in evolving populations of bit strings using...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2006
• Where: EC
• Authors: Gabriela Ochoa
• Keywords: EC 2006, ECommerce, Error Threshold, Genetic Algorithms, Mutation Rates