Fig 3. Stability and energetics of C. okenii swimming.

(A) Phase plot presents the combined effect of cell aspect ratio (a/b) and the normalized offset length scale, L_W/a, ratio between the position of the cell center of weight (determined by the effective SGBs position) and its major axis. The dashed black line represents the boundary across which the orientation stability switches. Since, only the SGBs position dictates the swimming stability, the aspect ratio does not have any influence on the line of stability. However, the aspect ratio the drag on the cell, thereby determining the rotation rate, i.e., the time taken by the cell to attain equilibrium swimming direction. For a given L_W/a, a cell with higher aspect ratio will experience a higher rotation rate, and a higher degree of instability (stability) depending on whether it lies above (below) the dashed-black line, respectively. (B) Power dissipation by swimming C. okenii as a function of the aspect ratio and L_W/a values obtained experimentally. For a given aspect ratio, the power dissipated increases with L_W/a, while for a given L_W/a, the dissipated power reduces with aspect ratio.