Asexual Versus Sexual Reproduction in Genetic Algorithms. Technical Report 2006-09

This study examined the effectiveness of standard genetic algorithms in resolving a 20 city travelling salesperson scenario. The results of standard algorithms were compared to that of competitive/co-operative sexual selection for genetic algorithms developed by Sanchez-Velazco and Bullinaria (2003). A range of parameters was used with both the standard and genetic algorithms to determine the validity of their conclusion that sexual selection is a superior evolutionary approach. This study suggests that gendered reproduction may be useful in some, but not all, contexts.