Groupers and moray eels (GME) optimization: a nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithm for solving complex engineering problems

As engineering technology advances and the number of complex engineering problems increases, there is a growing need to expand the abundance of swarm intelligence algorithms and enhance their performance. It is crucial to develop, assess, and hybridize new powerful algorithms that can be used to deal with optimization issues in different fields. This paper proposes a novel nature-inspired algorithm, namely the Groupers and Moray Eels (GME) optimization algorithm, for solving various optimization problems. GME mimics the associative hunting between groupers and moray eels. Many species, including chimpanzees and lions, have shown cooperation during hunting. Cooperative hunting among animals of different species, which is called associative hunting, is extremely rare. Groupers and moray eels have complementary hunting approaches. Cooperation is thus mutually beneficial because it increases the likelihood of both species successfully capturing prey. The two predators have complementary hunting methods when they work together, and an associated hunt creates a multi-predator attack that is difficult to evade. This example of hunting differs from that of groups of animals of the same species due to the high level of coordination among the two species. GME consists of four phases: primary search, pair association, encircling or extended search, and attacking and catching. The behavior characteristics are mathematically represented to allow for an adequate balance between GME exploitation and exploration. Experimental results indicate that the GME outperforms competing algorithms in terms of accuracy, execution time, convergence rate, and the ability to locate all or the majority of local or global optima.