Net forward trajectories from swimming simulations.

Abstract

<p>As indicated above each frame, the beating patterns that generated a true linear path were those where the right and left middle legs (<i>m_r</i>+<i>m_l</i>), hind legs (<i>h_r</i>+<i>h_l</i>), and hind followed by middle legs (<i>h_r</i>+<i>h_l</i>, <i>m_r</i>+<i>m_l</i>) beat simultaneously. In these three cases, the total distance traveled was equal to Δy. For the other three cases where the middle right and left legs (<i>m_r</i>, <i>m_l</i>) and the hind right and left legs (<i>h_r</i>, <i>h_l</i>) beat alternately, and the simultaneous beating of the hind legs followed by the beating of a middle leg (<i>h_r</i>+<i>h_l</i>, <i>m_r</i>, <i>h_r</i>+<i>h_l</i>, <i>m_l</i>) the net forward distance traveled was calculated from a line between the start and end point. Numerical analysis of these trajectories is shown in <a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002792#pcbi-1002792-t004" target="_blank"><b>Table 4</b></a>.</p