Living System Adapts Harmonics of Peristaltic Wave for Cost-Efficient Optimization of Pumping Performance

Wavelike patterns driving transport are ubiquitous in life. Peristaltic pumps are a paradigm of efficient mass transport by contraction driven flows-often limited by energetic constraints. We show that a cost-efficient increase in pumping performance can be achieved by modulating the phase difference between harmonics to increase occlusion. In experiments we find a phase difference shift in the living peristalsis model P. polycephalum as dynamic response to forced mass transport. Our findings provide a novel metric for wavelike patterns and demonstrate the crucial role of nonlinearities in life.