Dr Rachel Hale Marine Biologist

Is it time for a bsky introduction? Hello I’m Rachel Hale, a Marine Biologist based in Aotearoa NZ. I study benthic ecosystems. I am interested in small animals that live on the seafloor, what they do, & how the diversity & behaviour of these ecosystems is affected by stresses like climate change

For this #molluscmonday and #marinelifemonday we got a Club-gilled nudibranch (Amphorina pallida). It was not exactly warm in the water on this day, a toasty 3 C. 🦑🤿 Taken: 2023-03-19 in Lysekil.

Immediately excited then disappointed by the Whalefall movie.

We're publishing new guidance to support trans people who do fieldwork (any work outside the office)! Now we need your help to get them seen so please share! inclusivefieldwork.leeds.ac.uk/trans/

I interact with @whysharksmatter.bsky.social ONCE on Facebook and now my feed is full of vertebrates! 😫

After ribbing my colleague for making figures in excel all day I produced this beauty with R. Bet you can't make that in excel can you??! #rstats #accidentalaRt @accidentalart.bsky.social

"Is plastic pollution getting worse?" It's the question we get asked more than any other. After 15 years of data from Lord Howe Island, we finally have a straight answer. 🧵 🔗 agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

Lol. MDPI not even trying...

Would it be weird if I embroidered eyes/faces on the squiggles to turn them into worms?

Stromatolites are fossil evidence of some of the earliest forms of life on earth, and some can be up to 3.45 billion years old! Stromatolites are formed when blankets of photosynthetic single-celled micro-organisms "cement" surrounding sediment in slowly growing layers.

Occidental Petroleum will begin operating the world’s largest carbon removal facility, Stratos, at the end of 2026. The facility is designed to remove up to 500,000 tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere annually. If it works, that's a time machine that will take us back by ~6 minutes every year.

The NOAA #OceanAcidification Program has a new website with background, classroom ready, regional and species-specific resources for educators, students and anyone interested in OA. 🧪🌊🦑🍎 #BackToSchool oceanacidification.noaa.gov/ocean-acidif...

Gina Torres or Claudia Black

the way i'm nodding along like yes, yes

this is going to turn me into the joker

Hot iridescent worms in your area, Lurking in karstic caves, Slithering out of cave crickets 🧪 dailyparasite.blogspot.com/2025/12/gord...

I don't like this.

Children: as problems in schools to be controlled; financial benefits to the state, but also burdens that must therefore be incentivised, for parents to have them; not in need of decent nutrition but still to be shamed for their bodies; & oh btw the Children’s Commissioner is sacked. FFS #nzpol

Obviously I bought him. He is mine now. He will look after my car keys. Good shark.

Last hours for early bird rego for the 6th Ocean in a High CO2 World Symposium, Wellington in October. Come join us to hear the latest research in ocean acidification, multiple stressors, ocean observation, climate science, marine carbon dioxide removal, & blue carbon: highco2-vi.org 🌊🪼🌏🦑🐙🦀🪸 #OHCO2W

I didn't know they made a @whysharksmatter.bsky.social Lego keyring. #sharksnearme

So pretty

Always thinking of her 💔

I am beyond excited to share that our paper, "Neurodivergent Perceptions, Experiences, and Perspectives in Academic Biological Sciences Spaces" has been published! A 🧵incoming because this paper is so special to me and the co-authors. doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

From collections to conservation: the indispensable role of natural history museums The IUCN Species Survival Commission has published a Position Statement on the vital role of biological collections in biodiversity conservation iucn.org/news/202607/...

Getting in the sea never gets old.

Who wouldn't!

🦀 see a crab, post a crab 🦀 Zebra crab!

🦀 see a crab, post a crab 🦀 I'll never pass up the opportunity to post this crab in his chiton hat

Earth systems don’t care about your borders. We solve the climate crisis as a planetary species or we don’t solve it. #NomadCentury

I've written a post about Echinomermella matsi, a roundworm which parasitises sea urchins. This worm can castrate or even reduce the lifespan of sea urchins, and this is a story about how these worms turned parasitic over the course of their evolution 🧪 dailyparasite.blogspot.com/2026/07/echi...

If anyone knows any MSC or PhD students working in the realm of evaporates or any other chemical sediments then please encourage them to apply for this opportunity to share their research.

Interesting piece @science.org It's true that in the way scientific hierarchy is designed it generally rewards confirmation & penalises difference. What this paper misses is the epistemic injustice in recognition based on the identity of who presents the surprises. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

For #MolluscMonday, a grim one. The new IUCN Red List assessed every mollusc known to live only at hydrothermal vents. Of 201 species, 125 are now threatened with extinction, and the driver is deep-sea mining that has not meaningfully started yet. #marinelife iucn.org/press-releas...

I think it's a real image that has been "tweaked" and modified.

It's the hope that gets you

Every time the same 🤦

By popular demand, here is everyone in the climate and energy portrait series.

CHONK! Any day I spot a *Cryptochiton* is a good day. #MolluskMonday #MolluscMonday #MarineLife #SwelterShelterNSF 🌊🦑

#WormWednesday Minoru Imajima illustrated with great clarity. This is Lepidonotus akunanae from 2011. Not all polychaetes lend themselves to such artistic featuring. www.marinespecies.org/polychaeta/a...

If this science stuff doesn't work out maybe I'll just bake all day.

Nephtyidae for Nephtys. (it should have been spelled Nephthys after the goddess, but someone stuffed up). Horrid spelling to get right.

Somebody blocked me over this

Just got mixed up saying Warehouse and Woolworths and called it Werewolves which is what I'll be calling it from now on.

What my fellowship conceptual diagram currently looks like. Internal deadline tomorrow. Science help me 🙏

So can we, like, do something now? The time to start radical decarbonisation was years ago. Now we're on damage control and we STILL need to start radical decarbonisation. Vote!