The behaviour of genetic drift in a spatially-structured evolutionary algorithm

Abstract- Spatially-structured evolutionary aglorithms (SSEAs) have allowed evolutionary search to be scaled up to increasingly larger and more difficult problems. While their use is becoming more widespread, the basic underlying theory behind them has some omissions. In particular, the effect of random genetic drift on spatial structures is largely unknown. This paper uses models derived from random walk theory to describe the be-haviour of a specific class of SSEA. The match between the model and experimental findings is very good. It is the intention that this work serves as the basis for a more abstract model of drift that will encompass all spatially-structured population models.