Evolutionary Computation with Biogeography-based Optimization

1The Science of Biogeography

Biogeography is the science studying the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through time. It is usually considered a subset of physical geography because it often is related to the study of the physical environment, and how it affects species and shapes their distribution across space. It is concerned not only with habitation patterns, but also with the factors responsible for variations in distribution. It aims to analyze where species live, and in what abundance. Biogeography has strong ties to biology, ecology, evolution, climatology and soil science.

Overview of the chapter

This chapter provides the basic notations and ideas that form the foundation of biogeography-based optimization (BBO). This chapter first gives an introduction to natural biogeography in section 1.1, and then focuses on island biogeography in section 1.2. Some interesting factors that influence biogeography and that inspire BBO algorithmic features are described in section 1.3.

1.1. Introduction

The science of biogeography can be traced to the work of 19th Century naturalists, most notably Alfred Wallace [WAL 06] and Charles Darwin [KEY 01] (see Figure 1.1). Wallace is usually considered the father of biogeography, although Darwin is much better known because of his preeminence in publishing the theory of evolution. Science views the distribution of species in the world as a result of continuous evolution. Some species evolve locally.

Figure 1.1 ...