Biogeography-based optimization with improved migration operator and self-adaptive clear duplicate operator

Biogeography-based optimization (BBO) is a new emerging population-based algorithm that has been shown to be competitive with other evolutionary algorithms. However, there are some insufficiencies in solving complex problems, such as poor population diversity and slow convergence speed in the later stage. To overcome these shortcomings, we propose an improved BBO (IBBO) algorithm integrating a new improved migration operator, Gaussian mutation operator, and self-adaptive clear duplicate operator. The improved migration operator simultaneously adopts more information from other habitats, maintains population diversity, and preserves exploitation ability. The self-adaptive clear duplicate operator can clear duplicate or almost identical habitats, while also preserving population diversity through a self-adaptation threshold within the evolution process. Simulation results and comparisons from the experimental tests conducted on 23 benchmark functions show that IBBO achieves excellent performance in solving complex problems compared with other variants of the BBO algorithm and other evolutionary algorithms. The performance of the improved migration operator is also discussed.