Early-life adversity modulates growth trajectories and red blood cell mitochondrial metabolism in king penguin chicks
Abstract
In many avian species, variation in breeding phenology is known to affect reproductive success. In king penguins, the breeding cycle lasts more than a year, and the start of egg-laying extends over 3 months, with early-breeders laying eggs around December and late-breeders around February. Consequently, late-born chicks have less time to grow and build up their energy reserves before the Austral winter. It is however not known whether late-born chicks display alternative physiological strategies to catch up before winter. Variation in metabolic rate is one important pathway driving differences in growth patterns, as it is directly involved both in energy allocation processes and fitness. The conversion of resources into energy occurs in mitochondria, and the efficiency of this conversion is likely to play a fundamental role in explaining individual heterogeneity in growth and survival. The purposes of this study were to investigate the differences in red blood cell mitochondrial metabolism between early- and late-born king penguin chicks and to assess whether morphometric phenotypes could be explained by differences in mitochondrial metabolism. Late-chicks expressed higher mitochondrial metabolism compared to early-chicks at 100 days post-hatching, probably linked to the stress related to winter environmental conditions and a decrease in parental feeding rates. We did not find a clear association between chick mitochondrial metabolism and growth patterns, suggesting that mostly environmental conditions contributed in explaining different metabolic phenotypes. As king penguin populations in Crozet may face changing breeding conditions (changes in feeding area and foraging trips duration) in relation to global changes, studying the physiological traits and adaptations underlying the chick growth and survival may help understanding the response of king penguins facing challenging conditions.
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BibTeX
@article{cossinsevrin2026earlylife,
title = {{Early-life adversity modulates growth trajectories and red blood cell mitochondrial metabolism in king penguin chicks}},
author = {Nina Cossin-Sevrin and Katja Anttila and Mathilde Lejeune and Céline Bocquet and Maëlle Fusillier and Thomas Faulmann and Camille Lemonnier and Natacha Garcin and Anne Cillard and Pierre Bize and Jean‐patrice Robin and Suvi Ruuskanen and Vincent Viblanc},
journal = {Journal of Avian Biology},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1002/jav.03597},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05233293v2},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Early-life adversity modulates growth trajectories and red blood cell mitochondrial metabolism in king penguin chicks
AU - Nina Cossin-Sevrin
AU - Katja Anttila
AU - Mathilde Lejeune
AU - Céline Bocquet
AU - Maëlle Fusillier
AU - Thomas Faulmann
AU - Camille Lemonnier
AU - Natacha Garcin
AU - Anne Cillard
AU - Pierre Bize
AU - Jean‐patrice Robin
AU - Suvi Ruuskanen
AU - Vincent Viblanc
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/22
JO - Journal of Avian Biology
DO - 10.1002/jav.03597
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05233293v2
AB - In many avian species, variation in breeding phenology is known to affect reproductive success. In king penguins, the breeding cycle lasts more than a year, and the start of egg-laying extends over 3 months, with early-breeders laying eggs around December and late-breeders around February. Consequently, late-born chicks have less time to grow and build up their energy reserves before the Austral winter. It is however not known whether late-born chicks display alternative physiological strategies to catch up before winter. Variation in metabolic rate is one important pathway driving differences in growth patterns, as it is directly involved both in energy allocation processes and fitness. The conversion of resources into energy occurs in mitochondria, and the efficiency of this conversion is likely to play a fundamental role in explaining individual heterogeneity in growth and survival. The purposes of this study were to investigate the differences in red blood cell mitochondrial metabolism between early- and late-born king penguin chicks and to assess whether morphometric phenotypes could be explained by differences in mitochondrial metabolism. Late-chicks expressed higher mitochondrial metabolism compared to early-chicks at 100 days post-hatching, probably linked to the stress related to winter environmental conditions and a decrease in parental feeding rates. We did not find a clear association between chick mitochondrial metabolism and growth patterns, suggesting that mostly environmental conditions contributed in explaining different metabolic phenotypes. As king penguin populations in Crozet may face changing breeding conditions (changes in feeding area and foraging trips duration) in relation to global changes, studying the physiological traits and adaptations underlying the chick growth and survival may help understanding the response of king penguins facing challenging conditions.
SN - 0908-8857
SN - 1600-048X
ER -