Interestingly, this relates to our discussion about episodic vs non-episodic learning algorithms. In this case it seems clear that evolution is not episodic and assuming very large population sizes ought to maximize long-run inclusive fitness. So the puzzle here is that if it takes 300 generations for sex to break even, then if a mutation caused some member of a sexual species to start reproducing asexually, the sexual population would crash to 0 before it could recover.
My idea for solving this (which I just thought of now so take it with a grain of salt) is, because a sexual species can maintain a genome against a much higher mutation rate than an asexual species can (see past discussion), an asexual species needs to have a much lower mutation rate (i.e., much more machinery to prevent/repair mutations) to survive. When an asexual population arises from a sexual species, it doesn’t have the extra protective machinery and therefore quickly succumbs to accumulation of harmful mutations, perhaps before the sexual population can go extinct.
Or if it does drive the sexual population extinct first before itself going extinct, if most species are sexual then a phenotypically nearby species can just come occupy the now vacated niche.
Evolution isn’t episodic. In some sense the question motivating the OP was whether many of the important phenomena can come from being episodic with an appropriate utility function (something like exp(fitness) instead of fitness).
In some sense the question motivating the OP was whether many of the important phenomena can come from being episodic with an appropriate utility function (something like exp(fitness) instead of fitness
Interestingly, this relates to our discussion about episodic vs non-episodic learning algorithms. In this case it seems clear that evolution is not episodic and assuming very large population sizes ought to maximize long-run inclusive fitness. So the puzzle here is that if it takes 300 generations for sex to break even, then if a mutation caused some member of a sexual species to start reproducing asexually, the sexual population would crash to 0 before it could recover.
My idea for solving this (which I just thought of now so take it with a grain of salt) is, because a sexual species can maintain a genome against a much higher mutation rate than an asexual species can (see past discussion), an asexual species needs to have a much lower mutation rate (i.e., much more machinery to prevent/repair mutations) to survive. When an asexual population arises from a sexual species, it doesn’t have the extra protective machinery and therefore quickly succumbs to accumulation of harmful mutations, perhaps before the sexual population can go extinct.
Or if it does drive the sexual population extinct first before itself going extinct, if most species are sexual then a phenotypically nearby species can just come occupy the now vacated niche.
Evolution isn’t episodic. In some sense the question motivating the OP was whether many of the important phenomena can come from being episodic with an appropriate utility function (something like exp(fitness) instead of fitness).
I don’t understand this. Want to elaborate?