This study proposes the Sterna Migration Algorithm (StMA), a novel metaheuristic optimization method that integrates multi-cluster sectoral diffusion, leader-follower dynamics, adaptive perturbation regulation, and a multi-phase termination mechanism to achieve a dynamic balance between global exploration and local exploitation. StMA was systematically evaluated on the CEC2023 benchmark functions and the CEC2014 constrained engineering design problems, with comparisons against several mainstream population-based a…