Halley E. Froehlich

“Last July, a flash flood in Texas killed more than 100 people. The National Weather Service’s forecast was very good, Spinrad said, but there was no one filling a position responsible for warning local officials and emergency managers at the time.”

One year in, assessing budget cuts to federal climate and science jobs.

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/c...

Despite ban, Russian seafood is still the main dish on some American plates Since 2022, the U.S. has banned imported seafood from Russia. But Russian fish is still winding up on American plates. The Indicator's Wailin Wong and NHPR's Nate Hegyi explain.

Americans still eating Russian seafood despite bans... laundered through Chinese fish processing companies
www.npr.org/2026/03/06/n...

🐟🌱 New paper out!

Our team and partners tested fermented sugar kelp in diets for post‑smolt Atlantic salmon and found no negative effects on gut morphology, plus promising modulation of antioxidant and immune responses, a potential application in functional aquafeeds

🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.fs...

a little boy is running down a street with the words `` friendship hug '' . ALT: a little boy is running down a street with the words `` friendship hug '' .

I’m off to #Finland in less than one month 🥳 and I’m very much looking forward to it. But taking on this adventure really showed how many people love & care about us here in the states. Traveling to us, farewell parties at work, and every weekend packed 🥲💕

My colleague @alexwitze.bsky.social joined @scifri.bsky.social today to break down our reporting on how the White House is withholding funds from science agencies.

One researcher dials in to say her institution is waiting on $20 million in research funding.

Give it a listen ⤵️

Do otters after that.

Behold the Mighty Bluegill: The People's Fish An essay on the important species that never gets its due

"For some families and communities, bluegill remain an affordable, local, and healthy source of food.

Restricting food access to these communities in the name of producing larger recreational fish, is….well, hard to justify."

tnature.substack.com/p/behold-the...

If you don’t know about the fish doorbell then you don’t know joy.

I leave for Finland in exactly one month and I’m feeling very grateful at this moment 🇫🇮

Can Santa Barbara Researchers Bring Rockweed Back from the Brink? The Nature Conservancy is testing innovative ways of restoring the struggling algae at the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve and beyond.

I know things are pretty awful, but I am glad that some good is in the news. My lab works with The Nature Conservancy to help save the CA golden rockweed. We used #aquaculture techniques & successfully spawned them in captivity 🥳 Dr. Smith & Dr. Nielson = 💫 www.independent.com/2026/02/24/c...

That's right. Worse than Pointless
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/o...

I regret opening my phone this morning…

At ever stage of my career, undergrad to Professor, I (unknowingly) had to work with harassers and misogynists that were known to others to be awful. The harm caused to young female scientists continues without consequence or accountability. Turns out it’s not a “leaky pipe” it’s a damn fire hose.

Private money cannot replace public funding of science Who should pay for American science? In the current political climate, many are looking to the private sector to compensate for cuts in public funding. At the Harvard School of Public Health—particula...

Great piece by @naomioreskes.bsky.social. I've personally had more success with philanthropic funding than gov grants, but I work in an (unnecessarily) controversial area of researching food and climate. When public funding dwindles, we all lose. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Cover of The Lancet:

@thelancet.com
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing! Taking this to heart for my move from Santa Barbara to Helsinki 🥶

Can confirm…unfortunately.

Thank you!!

Agriculture Is Taking Over Grasslands, Wetlands and Other Overlooked Ecosystems A new study reveals that agriculture is rapidly replacing ecosystems like grasslands, wetlands and savannas, which are often ignored in sustainability policies.

Important new @worldresources.bsky.social research shows that agricultural expansion isn’t only leading to forest loss - it’s leading to loss of grasslands, savannas, & wetlands too.

From 2005-20, the 🌎 lost 95 Mha of non-forest natural ecosystems to annual crops, and another 95 Mha to pasture. 1/

Cool paper alert. Was trying to model the thermal performance curves of several farmed seaweed species and ran across this awesome, theoretical unifying paper: “A universal thermal performance curve arises in biology and ecology” www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

lol…

Fingers crossed for positive reviews!

New working paper, led by Margaret Hegwood:
"Aquaculture is subject to more regulations than any other food sector in the United States"
osf.io/preprints/so...

Feedback welcome!

Great to work with @dochfroehlich.bsky.social, Pete Newton & Mike Clark on this (in addition to Margaret, of course)!

The National Science Foundation’s entire budget is $10 billion.

It is shocking how quickly one of the biggest benefits of U.S. higher education, the ability to recruit the best students from around the world, is eroding.

a man wearing glasses says hello in a gif ALT: a man wearing glasses says hello in a gif

The 10th Doctor.

Now that I am on leave, turns out when I have uninterrupted research time I can write up a (rough draft) of an entire research paper in approximately 2 weeks...I feel like a postdoc again, with better pay 🤩

“Why Are We Funding This?” Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.

ICYMI, last year I wrote an essay for American Scientist magazine defending funding basic research, even research that sounds silly when presented out of context. 🧪

www.americanscientist.org/article/%E2%...

Being nominated and just awarded the Distinguished Early Career by United States Aquaculture Society (USAS) is such an honor, and so bittersweet as I prepare to move to Finland in a few weeks. The #aquaculture research community in the states is honestly incredible. What a send off 🥹 Thank you!!