Dear Colleagues, My co-authors and I are very pleased to announce the publication of the following article in Conservation Physiology: Thometz, NM, Hermann-Sorensen, H, Russell, B., Rosen, DAS, Reichmuth, C (2021) “Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism.” Conservation Physiology. 9(1): coaa112; doi:10.1093/conphys/coaa112. Abstract: Arctic seals, including spotted (*Phoca largha*), ringed (*Pusa hispida*) and bearded (*Erignathus barbatus*) seals, are directly affected by sea ice loss. These species use sea ice as a haul-out substrate for various critical functions, including their annual molt. Continued environmental warming will inevitably alter the routine behavior and overall energy budgets of Arctic seals, but it is difficult to quantify these impacts as their metabolic requirements are not well known—due in part to the difficulty of studying wild individuals. Thus, data pertaining to species-specific energy demands are urgently needed to better understand the physiological consequences of rapid environmental change. We used open-flow respirometry over a four-year period to track fine-scale, longitudinal changes in the resting metabolic rate (RMR) of four spotted seals, three ringed seals and one bearded seal trained to participate in research. Simultaneously, we collected complementary physiological and environmental data. Species-specific metabolic demands followed expected patterns based on body size, with the largest species, the bearded seal, exhibiting the highest absolute RMR (0.48 ± 0.04 L O2 min−1) and the lowest mass-specific RMR (4.10 ± 0.47 ml O2 min−1 kg−1), followed by spotted (absolute: 0.33 ± 0.07 L O2 min−1; mass-specific: 6.13 ± 0.73 ml O2 min−1 kg−1) and ringed (absolute: 0.20 ± 0.04 L O2 min−1; mass-specific: 7.01 ± 1.38 ml O2 min−1 kg−1) seals. Further, we observed clear and consistent annual patterns in RMR that related to the distinct molting strategies of each species. For species that molted over relatively short intervals—spotted (33 ± 4 days) and ringed (28 ± 6 days) seals—metabolic demands increased markedly in association with molt. In contrast, the bearded seal exhibited a prolonged molting strategy (119 ± 2 days), which appeared to limit the overall cost of molting as indicated by a relatively stable annual RMR. These findings highlight energetic trade-offs associated with different molting strategies and provide quantitative data that can be used to assess species-specific vulnerabilities to changing conditions. This is an open access article that can be found at the following link: https://academic.oup.com/conphys/article/9/1/coaa112/6064174 Please feel free to contact me (nthometz@usfca.edu) should you have any questions. Best, Nicole -- Nicole M. Thometz, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Biology University of San Francisco 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 Phone: (415) 422-4083 Office: Harney 219H