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On crossing fitness valleys with the Baldwin Effect

On crossing fitness valleys with the Baldwin Effect
On crossing fitness valleys with the Baldwin Effect
Escaping local optima and crossing fitness valleys to reach higher-fitness regions of a fitness landscape is a ubiquitous concept in much writing on evolutionary difficulty. The Baldwin effect, an interaction between non-heritable lifetime plasticity (e.g. learning) and evolution, has been shown to be able to guide evolutionary change and ‘smooth out’ abrupt fitness changes in fitness landscapes –thus enabling genetic evolution that would otherwise not occur. However, prior work has not provided a detailed study or analysis on the saddle-crossing ability of the Baldwin effect in a simple multi-peaked landscape. Here we provide analytic and simulation studies to investigate the effectiveness and limitations of the Baldwin effect in enabling genotypic evolution to cross fitness valleys. We also discuss how canalisation, an aspect of many prior models of the Baldwin effect, is unnecessary for the Baldwin effect and a hindrance to its valley-crossing ability.
Baldwin Effect, genetic assimilation, canalisation
493-499
MIT Press
Mills, Rob
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Watson, R. A.
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Rocha, Luis M.
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Bedau, Mark
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Floreano, Dario
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Goldstone, Robert
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Vespignani, Alessandro
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Yaeger, Larry
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Rocha, Luis M.
Mills, Rob
3d53d4bc-e1de-4807-b89b-f5813f2172a7
Watson, R. A.
ce199dfc-d5d4-4edf-bd7b-f9e224c96c75
Rocha, Luis M.
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Bedau, Mark
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Floreano, Dario
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Goldstone, Robert
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Vespignani, Alessandro
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Yaeger, Larry
1d7381d3-dacc-4f6d-bb95-23140f1fe95e
Rocha, Luis M.

Mills, Rob and Watson, R. A. (2006) On crossing fitness valleys with the Baldwin Effect. Rocha, Luis M., Bedau, Mark, Floreano, Dario, Goldstone, Robert, Vespignani, Alessandro, Yaeger, Larry and Rocha, Luis M. (eds.) In Artificial Life X: Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on the Simulation and Synthesis of Living Systems. MIT Press. pp. 493-499 .

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Escaping local optima and crossing fitness valleys to reach higher-fitness regions of a fitness landscape is a ubiquitous concept in much writing on evolutionary difficulty. The Baldwin effect, an interaction between non-heritable lifetime plasticity (e.g. learning) and evolution, has been shown to be able to guide evolutionary change and ‘smooth out’ abrupt fitness changes in fitness landscapes –thus enabling genetic evolution that would otherwise not occur. However, prior work has not provided a detailed study or analysis on the saddle-crossing ability of the Baldwin effect in a simple multi-peaked landscape. Here we provide analytic and simulation studies to investigate the effectiveness and limitations of the Baldwin effect in enabling genotypic evolution to cross fitness valleys. We also discuss how canalisation, an aspect of many prior models of the Baldwin effect, is unnecessary for the Baldwin effect and a hindrance to its valley-crossing ability.

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More information

Published date: 2006
Additional Information: Event Dates: 2006-06
Venue - Dates: Tenth International Conference on the Simulation and Synthesis of Living Systems (ALifeX), Bloomington, Indiana, United States, 2006-06-01
Keywords: Baldwin Effect, genetic assimilation, canalisation
Organisations: Agents, Interactions & Complexity, EEE

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 261751
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/261751
PURE UUID: f743faf7-c77d-42d0-ad43-2889ca3aae02
ORCID for R. A. Watson: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2521-8255

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 18 Jan 2006
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:42

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Contributors

Author: Rob Mills
Author: R. A. Watson ORCID iD
Editor: Luis M. Rocha
Editor: Mark Bedau
Editor: Dario Floreano
Editor: Robert Goldstone
Editor: Alessandro Vespignani
Editor: Larry Yaeger
Editor: Luis M. Rocha

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