Discussion of 'Application of the Firefly Algorithm to Optimal Operation of Reservoirs with the Purpose of Irrigation Supply and Hydropower Production' by Irene Garousi-Nejad, Omid Bozorg-Haddad, Hugo A. Loaiciga, and Miguel A. Marino

摘要

In the original paper, the authors made an effort to show the application of the firefly algorithm (FA) and its superiority to solve different reservoir operation problems in comparison with the genetic algorithm (GA). Although the paper seems interesting, the discusser would like to mention following points for future studies. The authors claimed that the FA has not been applied for the optimal operation of reservoir systems before. On the one hand, Hosseini-Moghari and Banihabib (2014) applied the FA to optimize the operation of the Bazoft Reservoir. Furthermore, there are numerous different kinds of lifeform throughout the world; this cannot mean that researchers should develop, modify, and apply almost infinite different algorithms based on insects, fish, mammals, and plants. Over the last decade, there has been an explosion in the development of new so-called metaheuristic optimization algorithms based on natural metaphors. These algorithms have attracted criticism globally (Weyland 2010, 2015; Lones 2014; Sorensen 2015; Swan et al. 2015). It has been argued that these algorithms just proliferate existing methods by using different terminology in order to hide their lack of novelty (Weyland 2010, 2015; Lones 2014; Sorensen 2015).