Speciation through selection and drift

In this paper we present a simple genetic algorithm, possessing a notion of viability, in which a population of individuals spreads to populate a second niche with the same fitness function. The two populations then diverge genetically until hybrid offspring produced by crossover are inviable. We argue that this simple evolutionary behavior in the genetic algorithm (GA) can be likened to the concept of speciation in biology. We describe one GA configuration in which speciation is driven by selection, and a second driven entirely by drift.