Fig. 5.

Pareto-optimal curved-rod morphologies. Colored regions represent the set of shapes that are Pareto-optimal resulting from trade-offs between Swimming Efficiency, Chemotactic SNR, and Construction Ease; white region represents suboptimal shapes; and dots represent observed species medians. Selected simulated morphologies are plotted along the main optimal/suboptimal Pareto front as well as at the centroid of the disconnected Pareto-optimal “island.” RGB color values were assigned by normalizing performances in each task within the optimal region between 0 and 1. Color thus signifies relative, not absolute, trade-offs between tasks as indicated by the color triangle (Inset). Not all colors in the triangle are realized because not all possible trade-offs are realized (e.g., the shapes that excel at Construction Ease also excel at Swimming Efficiency).