Evolutionary Physiology Research Articles

Harnessing Rhizobia to Improve Heavy-Metal Phytoremediation by Legumes.

Rhizobia are bacteria that can form symbiotic associations with plants of the Fabaceae family, during which they reduce atmospheric di-nitrogen to ammonia. The symbiosis between rhizobia and leguminous plants is a fundamental contributor to nitrogen cycling in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Rhizobial microsymbionts are a major reason why legumes can colonize marginal lands and nitrogen-deficient soils. Several leguminous species have been found in metal-contaminated areas, and they often harbor metal-tolerant rhizobia. In recent years, there have been numerous efforts and discoveries related to the genetic determinants of metal resistance by rhizobia, and on the effectiveness of such rhizobia to increase the metal tolerance of host plants. Here, we review the main findings on the metal resistance of rhizobia: the physiological role, evolution, and genetic determinants, and the potential to use native and genetically-manipulated rhizobia as inoculants for legumes in phytoremediation practices.

Broadening horizons: Sample diversity and socioecological theory are essential to the future of psychological science.

The present lack of sample diversity and ecological theory in psychological science fundamentally limits generalizability and obstructs scientific progress. A focus on the role of socioecology in shaping the evolution of morphology, physiology, and behavior has not yet been widely applied toward psychology. To date, evolutionary approaches to psychology have focused more on finding universals than explaining variability. However, contrasts between small-scale, kin-based rural subsistence societies and large-scale urban, market-based populations, have not been well appreciated. Nor has the variability within high-income countries, or the socioeconomic and cultural transformations affecting even the most remote tribal populations today. Elucidating the causes and effects of such broad changes on psychology and behavior is a fundamental concern of the social sciences; expanding study participants beyond students and other convenience samples is necessary to improve understanding of flexible psychological reaction norms among and within populations. Here I highlight two examples demonstrating how socioecological variability can help explain psychological trait expression: (i) the role of environmental harshness and unpredictability on shaping time preference and related traits, such as impulsivity, vigilance, and self-efficacy; and (ii) the effects of industrialization, market integration, and niche complexity on personality structure. These cases illustrate how appropriate theory can be a powerful tool to help determine choices of diverse study populations and improve the social sciences.

The Biokinetic Spectrum for Temperature and optimal Darwinian fitness

Darwinian fitness is maximised at a temperature below Topt, but what this temperature is remains unclear. By linking our previous work on the Biokinetic Spectrum for Temperature with a model for temperature-dependent biological growth rate we obtain a plausible value for such a temperature. We find this approach reveals considerable commonalities in how life responds to temperature with implications that follow in evolution, physiology and ecology.We described a data set consisting of 17,021 observations of temperature-dependent population growth rates from 2411 bacterial, archaeal and eukaryal strains. We fitted a thermodynamic model to describe the strains’ temperature-dependent growth rate curves that assumed growth was limited by a single rate-limiting enzyme. We defined Umes as an empirical measure of the temperature at which strains grew as fast and also as efficiently as possible. We propose that Darwinian fitness is optimised at Umes by trading-off growth rate and physiological efficiency.Using the full data set we calculated the Biokinetic Spectrum for Temperature (BKST): the distribution of temperature-dependent growth rates for each temperature. We used quantile regression to fit alternative models to the BKST to obtain quantile curves. A quantile is a value that contains a particular proportion of the data. The quantile curves suggested commonalities in temperature-dependencies spanning taxa and ecotype, consistent with the single rate-limiting enzyme concept. We showed that on the log scale, the slopes of the quantile curves were the same as the slopes of the thermodynamic model growth curves at Umes. This was true for Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya, and across other conditions (pH, water activity, metabolic type and trophic type). We showed that the quantile curves were the loci of the temperatures and growth rates that optimised Darwinian fitness for each strain at a given temperature-dependence and independently of other conditions.The quantile curves for Archaea and Bacteria shared a number of similarities attributable to the influence of the properties of water on protein folding. Other implications have impact on evolutionary biology, ecology, and physiology. The model predicts the existence of eurythermic strains that grow with about equal efficiency over a broad temperature range. These strains will have higher evolutionary rates with lower mutational costs that are independent of environmental conditions, a factor likely to have been significant during the Precambrian if the early Earth was warmer than today. The model predicts that random mutations are likely to result in shifts along the quantile curves and not across them. It predicts that some psychrophiles will be capable of performing well under climate change, and that selection will favour faster growth rates as the temperature increases. Last, it predicts trade-offs between growth rate and soma production, so that temperature-dependence, and possibly Darwinian fitness, remain constant over a broad temperature range and growth rates.

Mid‐Cretaceous Hothouse Climate and the Expansion of Early Angiosperms

AbstractThe remarkable transition of early angiosperms from a small to a dominant group characterized the terrestrial ecosystem of the Cretaceous. This transition was instigated and promoted by environmental changes. Mid‐Cretaceous is characterized by major geological events that affected the global environment. δ18O, palaeothermometer TEX86, and other climatic indices from marine sediments suggest rapid temperature increase during mid‐Cretaceous despite occasional short cooling events. Simultaneously, terrestrial deposits in East Asia changed from coal‐bearing to shale, then to red beds and evaporites. Plant assemblages and other paleoclimate indicators point to rapid aridification for mid‐Cretaceous terrestrial environments. In addition, the wildfires were frequently spread all over the earth by the numerous charcoal evidence during the Mid‐Cretaceous. Thus, we speculate that the seasonally dry and hot conditions of mid‐Cretaceous created a fiery hothouse world. Early angiosperms increased in abundance and diversity and evolved from a few aquatic species to terrestrial herbaceous and then to the diversified flora of today. Angiosperms showed rapid physiological evolution in vein density and leaf area that improved photosynthesis and water absorption. These ecophysiological changes made early angiosperms well adapted to the hot and dry environment in mid‐Cretaceous. Moreover, these physiological changes facilitated the fire–angiosperm cycles in mid‐Cretaceous that likely further stimulated the early angiosperm evolution.

Plasma Membrane Lipid Domains as Platforms for Vesicle Biogenesis and Shedding?

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) contribute to several pathophysiological processes and appear as emerging targets for disease diagnosis and therapy. However, successful translation from bench to bedside requires deeper understanding of EVs, in particular their diversity, composition, biogenesis and shedding mechanisms. In this review, we focus on plasma membrane-derived microvesicles (MVs), far less appreciated than exosomes. We integrate documented mechanisms involved in MV biogenesis and shedding, focusing on the red blood cell as a model. We then provide a perspective for the relevance of plasma membrane lipid composition and biophysical properties in microvesiculation on red blood cells but also platelets, immune and nervous cells as well as tumor cells. Although only a few data are available in this respect, most of them appear to converge to the idea that modulation of plasma membrane lipid content, transversal asymmetry and lateral heterogeneity in lipid domains may play a significant role in the vesiculation process. We suggest that lipid domains may represent platforms for inclusion/exclusion of membrane lipids and proteins into MVs and that MVs could originate from distinct domains during physiological processes and disease evolution.

Experimental evolution of personality traits: open-field exploration in bank voles from a multidirectional selection experiment

Evolution of complex physiological adaptations could be driven by natural selection acting on behavioral traits. Consequently, animal personality traits and their correlation with physiological traits have become an engaging research area. Here, we applied a unique experimental evolution model—lines of bank voles selected for (A) high exercise-induced aerobic metabolism, (H) ability to cope with low-quality herbivorous diet, and (P) intensity of predatory behavior, that is, traits shaping evolutionary path and diversity of mammals—and asked how the selection affected the voles’ personality traits, assessed in an open field test. The A- and P-line voles were more active, whereas the H-line voles were less active, compared those from unselected control lines (C). H-line voles moved slower but on more meandering trajectories, which indicated a more thorough exploration, whereas the A- and P-line voles moved faster and on straighter trajectories. A-line voles showed also an increased escape propensity, whereas P-line voles tended to be bolder. The remarkable correlated responses to the selection indicate a common genetic underlying mechanism of behavioral and physiological traits, and support the paradigm of evolutionary physiology built around the concept of correlated evolution of behavior and physiology.

Molecular Investigations of the Development and Diseases of Cerebral Cortex Folding using Gyrencephalic Mammal Ferrets.

Folds of the cerebral cortex (gyri and sulci) are among the most important properties of the mammalian brain. Uncovering the physiological roles, developmental mechanisms and evolution of the cortical folds would greatly facilitate our understanding of the human brain and its diseases. Although the anatomical features of the cortical folds have been intensively investigated, our knowledge about their molecular bases is still limited. To overcome this limitation, we recently established rapid and efficient genetic manipulation techniques for the brain of gyrencephalic mammal ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Using these techniques, we successfully uncovered the molecular mechanisms of cortical folding. In this article, I will summarize our recent research on the molecular mechanisms of development and diseases of cortical folding.

Heart Failure in Constrictive Pericarditis Improves Rapidly with Medical Therapy in Patients with Higher Inflammatory Burden

Introduction Diastolic heart failure is the primary pathophysiologic manifestation of constrictive pericarditis. Pericardiectomy is the choice of treatment for patients who fail medical therapy. Constrictive pericarditis may be chronic or transient inflammatory or a combination of both. Medical therapy with anti-inflammatory drugs improves the pericardial inflammation in patients with increased delayed hyper-enhancement (DHE) on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. The evolution of constrictive physiology, heart failure manifestations and outcomes with such treatment need more study. Hypothesis We hypothesize that in inflammatory constrictive pericarditis, anti-inflammatory therapy may reduce the need for pericardiectomy by reducing inflammation and improving heart failure symptoms. We also hypothesize that patients with severe inflammation have the best response to medical therapy. Methods Consecutive patients diagnosed with constrictive pericarditis and pericardial inflammation as evidenced by their CMR and elevated inflammatory markers were included. Patients were treated as per standard of care with anti-inflammatory therapy and diuretics, and followed on an outpatient basis. CMR imaging was obtained at approximately 6 month intervals. Patients received pericardiectomy if they had persistent constrictive physiology and signs and symptoms of heart failure despite optimal therapy. Baseline characteristics, laboratory values, echocardiographic and CMR data were collected. Pericardial delayed hyper-enhancement was quantified by measuring the volume of DHE using an intensity cutoff of >6 SD above normal septal myocardium. Results A total of 44 patients with 123 CMRs were included. Pericardiectomy was performed in 19 patients. Mean age was 57.9 ± 14.5 years and 9 (28%) patients were female. Mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 59 ± 6.5 %. There were no significant baseline differences between patients who underwent pericardiectomy and those who did not. On mixed model logistic regression analysis, the odds of having constrictive physiology was reduced by 49% (95% CI: 14%–70%, P=0.011) per year of optimal medical therapy. Patients with DHE above median had a 69% lower risk of needing pericardiectomy (HR: 0.31, 95%CI: 0.10–0.95, P=0.039) (Figure. 1). Conclusions With optimal anti-inflammatory therapy, constrictive physiology resolves significantly over time. The risk of requiring pericardiectomy is lower in patients with higher pericardial delayed hyper-enhancement at baseline.

Endosymbiont genomes yield clues of tubeworm success

Forty years after discovery of chemosynthetic symbiosis in the tubeworm Riftia pachyptila, how organisms maintain their unique host–symbiont associations at the cellular level is still largely unknown. Previous studies primarily focus on symbionts associated with host lineages living in hydrothermal vents. To understand physiological adaptations and evolution in these holobiont systems in markedly different habitats, we characterized four novel siboglinid-symbiont genomes spanning deep-sea seep and sedimented environments. Our comparative analyses suggest that all sampled siboglinid chemoautotrophic symbionts, except for frenulate symbionts, can use both rTCA and Calvin cycle for carbon fixation. We hypothesize that over evolutionary time siboglinids have been able to utilize different bacterial lineages allowing greater metabolic flexibility of carbon fixation (e.g., rTCA) enabling tubeworms to thrive in more reducing habitats, such as vents and seeps. Moreover, we show that sulfur metabolism and molecular mechanisms related to initial infection are remarkably conserved across chemoautotrophic symbionts in different habitats. Unexpectedly, we find that the ability to use hydrogen, as an additional energy source, is potentially more widespread than previously recognized. Our comparative genomic results help elucidate potential mechanisms used to allow chemosynthetically dependent holobionts adapt to, and evolve in, different environments.

Early-career researchers: an interview with Erika Eliason.

Erika Eliason is an Assistant Professor at University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, where she studies ecological and evolutionary physiology. She received her Bachelor's degree at Simon Fraser University, Canada, in 2003 before completing her MSc and PhD with Tony Farrell at the University of British Columbia, Canada. She then completed postdocs with Frank Seebacher at the University of Sydney, Steve Cooke at Carleton University, Canada, and Scott Hinch at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Erika gave the Cameron Award Lecture at the annual Canadian Society of Zoologists meeting in 2013.

Evolutionary trends in host physiology outweigh dietary niche in structuring primate gut microbiomes

Over the past decade several studies have reported that the gut microbiomes of mammals with similar dietary niches exhibit similar compositional and functional traits. However, these studies rely heavily on samples from captive individuals and often confound host phylogeny, gut morphology, and diet. To more explicitly test the influence of host dietary niche on the mammalian gut microbiome we use 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and shotgun metagenomics to compare the gut microbiota of 18 species of wild non-human primates classified as either folivores or closely related non-folivores, evenly distributed throughout the primate order and representing a range of gut morphological specializations. While folivory results in some convergent microbial traits, collectively we show that the influence of host phylogeny on both gut microbial composition and function is much stronger than that of host dietary niche. This pattern does not result from differences in host geographic location or actual dietary intake at the time of sampling, but instead appears to result from differences in host physiology. These findings indicate that mammalian gut microbiome plasticity in response to dietary shifts over both the lifespan of an individual host and the evolutionary history of a given host species is constrained by host physiological evolution. Therefore, the gut microbiome cannot be considered separately from host physiology when describing host nutritional strategies and the emergence of host dietary niches.

Transcriptome-wide survey, gene expression profiling and exogenous chemical-induced transcriptional responses of cytochrome P450 superfamily genes in migratory locust (Locusta migratoria)

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs) belong to a large superfamily of heme-containing enzymes catalyzing at least 60 different types of chemically distinct reactions. Insect CYPs play key roles in biotransformation of insecticides and plant chemicals, and are implicated in insecticide resistance and insect adaptation to their host plants. Insect CYPs are well studied in model insects, but little is known about the CYP superfamily in paurometabolous insects. We employed Illumina sequencing technology to identify 71 partial and 78 full-length open reading frames (ORFs) of LmCYP genes from the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), one of the most destructive paurometabolous insect pests in the world. Seventy-eight LmCYPs with complete ORFs were formally named and classified into 19 families and 43 subfamilies. The majority of LmCYPs were mainly expressed in nymphal and adult stages, but LmCYP expression varied widely among thirteen different tissues examined. Regulatory elements were predicted in the promoter regions of LmCYP genes, and subsequent exposure of locusts to 12 different exogenous chemicals showed that 2-tridecanone and xanthotoxin were the most effective at increasing LmCYP expression. Our results represent the first transcriptome-wide analysis of the LmCYP superfamily from migratory locust, and provide a foundation for understanding the physiological functions, functional diversity, evolution, and regulatory mechanisms controlling the expression of the CYP gene superfamily in the locust.

The queen\u2019s gut refines with age: longevity phenotypes in a social insect model

BackgroundIn social insects, identical genotypes can show extreme lifespan variation providing a unique perspective on age-associated microbial succession. In honey bees, short- and long-lived host phenotypes are polarized by a suite of age-associated factors including hormones, nutrition, immune senescence, and oxidative stress. Similar to other model organisms, the aging gut microbiota of short-lived (worker) honey bees accrue Proteobacteria and are depleted of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, consistent with a suite of host senescence markers. In contrast, long-lived (queen) honey bees maintain youthful cellular function with much lower expression of oxidative stress genes, suggesting a very different host environment for age-associated microbial succession.ResultsWe sequenced the microbiota of 63 honey bee queens exploring two chronological ages and four alimentary tract niches. To control for genetic and environmental variation, we quantified carbonyl accumulation in queen fat body tissue as a proxy for biological aging. We compared our results to the age-specific microbial succession of worker guts. Accounting for queen source variation, two or more bacterial species per niche differed significantly by queen age. Biological aging in queens was correlated with microbiota composition highlighting the relationship of microbiota with oxidative stress. Queens and workers shared many major gut bacterial species, but differ markedly in community structure and age succession. In stark contrast to aging workers, carbonyl accumulation in queens was significantly associated with increased Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and depletion of various Proteobacteria.ConclusionsWe present a model system linking changes in gut microbiota to diet and longevity, two of the most confounding variables in human microbiota research. The pattern of age-associated succession in the queen microbiota is largely the reverse of that demonstrated for workers. The guts of short-lived worker phenotypes are progressively dominated by three major Proteobacteria, but these same species were sparse or significantly depleted in long-lived queen phenotypes. More broadly, age-related changes in the honey bee microbiota reflect the regulatory anatomy of reproductive host metabolism. Our synthesis suggests that the evolution of colony-level reproductive physiology formed the context for host-microbial interactions and age-related succession of honey bee microbiota.

Mandible strike kinematics of the trap‐jaw ant genus Anochetus Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

AbstractHigh‐speed power‐amplification mechanisms are common throughout the animal kingdom. In ants, power‐amplified trap‐jaw mandibles have evolved independently at least four times, including once in the subfamily Ponerinae which contains the sister genera Odontomachus and Anochetus. In Odontomachus, mandible strikes have been relatively well described and can occur in <0.15 ms and reach speeds of over 60 m s−1. In contrast, the kinematics of mandible strikes have not been examined in Anochetus, whose species are smaller and morphologically distinct from Odontomachus. In this study, we describe the mandible strike kinematics of four species of Anochetus representative of the morphological, phylogenetic, and size diversity present within the genus. We also compare their strikes to two representative species of Odontomachus. We found that two species, Anochetus targionii and Anochetus paripungens, have mandible strikes that overall closely resemble those found in Odontomachus, reaching a mean maximum rotational velocity and acceleration of around 3.7 × 104 rad s−1 and 8.5 × 108 rad s−2, respectively. This performance is consistent with predictions based on body size scaling relationships described for Odontomachus. In contrast, Anochetus horridus and Anochetus emarginatus have slower strikes relative to the other species of Anochetus and Odontomachus, reaching mean maximum rotational velocity and acceleration of around 1.3 × 104 rad s−1 and 2 × 108 rad s−2, respectively. This variation in strike performance among species of Anochetus likely reflects differences in evolutionary history, physiology, and natural history among species.

Dependence of absence seizure dynamics on physiological parameter evolution

A neural field model of the corticothalamic system is applied to investigate the temporal and spectral characteristics of absence seizures in the presence of a temporally varying connection strength between the cerebral cortex and thalamus. Increasing connection strength drives the system into an absence seizure-like state once a threshold is passed and a supercritical Hopf bifurcation occurs. The dynamics and spectral characteristics of the resulting model seizures are explored as functions of maximum connection strength, time above threshold, and the rate at which the connection strength increases (ramp rate). Our results enable spectral and temporal characteristics of seizures to be related to changes in the underlying physiological evolution of connections via nonlinear dynamics and neural field theory. Spectral analysis reveals that the power of the harmonics and the duration of the oscillations increase as the maximum connection strength and the time above threshold increase. It is also found that the time to reach the stable limit-cycle seizure oscillation from the instability threshold decreases with the square root of the ramp rate.

A transcriptome comparison of time-matched developing human, mouse and rat neural progenitor cells reveals human uniqueness

It is widely accepted that human brain development has unique features that cannot be represented by rodents. Obvious reasons are the evolutionary distance and divergent physiology. This might lead to false predictions when rodents are used for safety or pharmacological efficacy studies. For a better translation of animal-based research to the human situation, human in vitro systems might be useful. In this study, we characterize developing neural progenitor cells from prenatal human and time-matched rat and mouse brains by analyzing the changes in their transcriptome profile during neural differentiation. Moreover, we identify hub molecules that regulate neurodevelopmental processes like migration and differentiation. Consequences of modulation of three of those hubs on these processes were studied in a species-specific context. We found that although the gene expression profiles of the three species largely differ qualitatively and quantitatively, they cluster in similar GO terms like cell migration, gliogenesis, neurogenesis or development of multicellular organism. Pharmacological modulation of the identified hub molecules triggered species-specific cellular responses. This study underlines the importance of understanding species differences on the molecular level and advocates the use of human based in vitro models for pharmacological and toxicological research.

Thermal niche evolution across replicated Anolis lizard adaptive radiations.

Elucidating how ecological and evolutionary mechanisms interact to produce and maintain biodiversity is a fundamental problem in evolutionary ecology. Here, we focus on how physiological evolution affects performance and species coexistence along the thermal niche axis in replicated radiations of Anolis lizards best known for resource partitioning based on morphological divergence. We find repeated divergence in thermal physiology within these radiations, and that this divergence significantly affects performance within natural thermal environments. Morphologically similar species that co-occur invariably differ in their thermal physiology, providing evidence that physiological divergence facilitates species coexistence within anole communities. Despite repeated divergence, phylogenetic comparative analyses indicate that physiological traits have evolved more slowly than key morphological traits related to the structural niche. Phylogenetic analyses also reveal that physiological divergence is correlated with divergence in broad-scale habitat climatic features commonly used to estimate thermal niche evolution, but that the latter incompletely predicts variation in the former. We provide comprehensive evidence for repeated adaptive evolution of physiological divergence within Anolis adaptive radiations, including the complementary roles of physiological and morphological divergence in promoting community-level diversity. We recommend greater integration of performance-based traits into analyses of climatic niche evolution, as they facilitate a more complete understanding of the phenotypic and ecological consequences of climatic divergence.

Correlated evolution of thermal niches and functional physiology in tropical freshwater fishes.

The role of ecology in phenotypic and species diversification is widely documented. Nonetheless, numerous nonadaptive processes can shape realized niches and phenotypic variation in natural populations, complicating inferences about adaptive evolution at macroevolutionary scales. We tested for evolved differences in thermal tolerances and their association with the realized thermal niche (including metrics describing diurnal and seasonal patterns of temperature extremes and variability) across a genus of tropical freshwater fishes reared in a standardized environment. There was limited evolution along the thermal niche axis associated with variation in maximum temperature and in upper thermal limits. In contrast, there was considerable diversification along the first major axis of the thermal niche associated with minimum temperatures and in lower thermal limits. Across our adaptive landscape analyses, 70% of species exhibited evidence of divergence in thermal niches. Most importantly, the first two major axes of thermal niche variation were significantly correlated with variation in lower thermal limits. Our results indicate adaptation to divergent thermal niches and adaptive evolution of related functional traits, and highlight the importance of divergence in lower thermal limits for the evolution of tropical biodiversity.

Unitary Physiology.

The common relationships among a great variety of biological phenomena seem enigmatic when considered solely at the level of the phenotype. The deep connections in physiology, for example, between the effects of maternal food restriction in utero and the subsequent incidence of metabolic syndrome in offspring, the effects of microgravity on cell polarity and reproduction in yeast, stress effects on jellyfish, and their endless longevity, or the relationship between nutrient abundance and the colonial form in slime molds, are not apparent by phenotypic observation. Yet all of these phenomena are ultimately determined by the Target of Rapamycin (TOR) gene and its associated signaling complexes. In the same manner, the unfolding of evolutionary physiology can be explained by a comparable application of the common principle of cell-cell signaling extending across complex developmental and phylogenetic traits. It is asserted that a critical set of physiologic and phenotypic adaptations emanated from a few crucial, ancestral receptor gene duplications that enabled the successful terrestrial transition of vertebrates from water to land. In combination, mTor and its cognate receptors and a few crucial genetic duplications provide a mechanistic common denominator across a diverse spectrum of biological responses. The proper understanding of their purpose yields a unified concept of physiology and its evolutionary development. © 2018 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 8:761-771, 2018.

Energetic fitness: Field metabolic rates assessed via 3D accelerometry complement conventional fitness metrics

Abstract Evaluating the fitness of organisms is an essential step towards understanding their responses to environmental change. Connections between energy expenditure and fitness have been postulated for nearly a century. However, testing this premise among wild animals is constrained by difficulties in measuring energy expenditure while simultaneously monitoring conventional fitness metrics such as survival and reproductive output. We addressed this issue by exploring the functional links between field metabolic rate (FMR), body condition, sex, age and reproductive performance in a wild population. We deployed 3D accelerometers on 115 Adélie penguins Pygoscelis adeliae during four breeding seasons at one of the largest colonies of this species, Cape Crozier, on Ross Island, Antarctica. The demography of this population has been studied for the past 18 years. From accelerometry recordings, collected for birds of known age and breeding history, we determined the vector of the dynamic body acceleration (VeDBA) and used it as a proxy for FMR. This allowed us to demonstrate relationships among FMR, a breeding quality index (BQI) and body condition. Notably, we found a significant quadratic relationship between mean VeDBA during foraging and BQI for experienced breeders, and individuals in better body condition showed lower rates of energy expenditure. We conclude that using FMR as a fitness component complementary to more conventional fitness metrics will yield greater understanding of evolutionary and conservation physiology. A plain language summary is available for this article.