A straightforward implementation of the mutational meltdown simulator
for sexual reproduction is not very difficult. However, the simulator
can use a huge amount of CPU time, as you have no doubt discovered
if you tried simulating larger populations (
) or higher
reproductive rates (
). In this section we will discuss
three optimizations that are necessary if the system is to run
larger experiments. With these optimizations we have been able
to carry out simulations where the mean time to extinction is
over 50,000 generations, and to simulate populations with over
250 individuals.
