Methods for automatic image interpretation based on the use of deformable template models have proved very successful. Whatever deformable template scheme is used, one of the basic requirements is a method for assessing the likelihood that a particular model instance is the correct interpretation of a given image. We describe a Bayesian 'fitness' measure which combines the likelihood of the mod...

Current theories regarding code growth (bloat) in genetic programming focus on the presence and growth of introns. In this paper we show for the first time that code growth can occur, albeit quite slowly, even in code that has a significant impact on fitness.

In the intertidal fish Bathygobius ramosus, larger males are more likely to reproduce than smaller ones due to male-male interactions and female preferences. Additionally, larger males are favored in foraging via intra-specific and inter-specific competition. Activity performance is also an important function associated with the ability to perform courtship, male-male interactions, and parental...

The alternative phenotype hypothesis contends that multiple phenotypes exist in a single genotype and are expressed by environmental or genetic cues. It further states that these multiple phenotypes will be maintained and improved in a population where the environment is unstable, in spite of the increased cost of this plasticity. In this work we propose a simple computational model to investig...

Fitness function design is often both a design and performance bottleneck for evolutionary algorithms. The fitness function for a given problem is directly related to the specifications for that problem. In this paper we outline a guide for transforming problem specifications into a fitness function. The target audience for this guide are non-expert practitioners. The goal of the research prese...

Models of the evolution of social behaviour are often framed in terms of either multi-level selection or inclusive individual fitness theory. Although both of these descriptions correctly predict changes in gene frequency (where group fitness is defined as the average individual fitness of the group members), it is still a hotly contested issue as to which provides a faithful description of the...

The accuracy-based fitness approach in XCS is one of the most significant changes in comparison with original learning classifier systems. Nonetheless, neither the scaled accuracy function, nor the importance of the relative fitness approach has been investigated in detail. The recent introduction of tournament selection to XCS has shown to make the system more independent from parameter settin...

Received Accepted Give us the tools and we will do the job: symbiotic bacteria affect olive fly fitness in a diet-dependent fashion Michael Ben-Yosef1,*, Yael Aharon2, Edouard Jurkevitch2 and Boaz Yuval1 Department of Entomology, and Department of Microbiology and Plant Diseases, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100,...

Demographic change and the aging population push health and welfare system to its limits. Increased physical fitness and increased awareness for health issues will help elderly to live independently for longer and will thereby reduce the costs in the health care system. Exergames seem to be a promising solution for promoting physical fitness. Still, there is little evidence under what condition...

1. Most animals do not feed on all the resources available to them, but the mechanisms behind the evolution of dietary specialization are still debated. A central but unanswered question is whether specialists generally gain fitness advantages on their resource compared to generalists, experiencing a trade-off between the ability to use a broad range of resources and the fitness reached on each...