By Lauren Fliearman


Sea otters are a familiar sight along Homer’s beaches, but their role in this community is far more complex than you may realize. Kachemak Bay Campus (KBC) will host a Sea Otter Showcase on April 28, diving into the latest sea otter science and stranding responses with KBC’s faculty, Semester by the Bay (SBB) students, Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services (AVPS) and the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (KBNERR).

A poster session with SBB students will kick off the event at 4:30 p.m. Attendees will be able to speak directly with students and learn about their semester-long projects and internships.


At 5:30 p.m., KBNERR will present on harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Kachemak Bay and how they could be contributing to seabird and marine mammal mortalities.


As a keystone species, sea otters exert a powerful influence on the food web. Their presence – or absence – can reshape marine ecosystems. By feeding on invertebrates such as sea urchins, which are the primary grazers on kelp forests, sea otters manage the kelp population and support this essential habitat for many fish and bird species. Healthy kelp forests also benefit our shorelines. They reduce coastal erosion and store significant amounts of carbon from the water and atmosphere. Therefore, sea otters are indirectly important for stable and resilient coastal environments.


More and more, however, sea otters have been found deceased along the coast of Alaska. In just the past four months, 65 dead sea otters have been reported, and nearly 30% of those otters were found in the Homer area. As to why, it still remains uncertain. These numbers seem to be similar or elevated from what has been seen in prior years, although consistent monitoring of causes of death has not occurred since around 2014 due to a lack of funding.


“SBB students stepping in to continue some of this surveillance has been a wonderful way to train the next generation of scientists and continue important ecosystem monitoring tasks,” said Natalie Rouse, AVPS internship host.


This informal session will feature research from prior semesters as well as new projects current students are working on, including  stranding response, diet analysis, detection of abnormal spraints, microbiome analysis of otter guts, human and sea otter interactions and monitoring sea otter behaviors.


One group of SBB students, through their exploration ecology course, have been comparing sea otter diets, focusing on prey types and diversity and how both have changed before and after the 2015 marine heatwave. The goal of this project was to see if the heatwave altered sea otters’ foraging behaviors and their diet.


“When collecting, sorting and comparing sea otter scat, I never realized how many different animals sea otters preyed on until we actually started our project,” said Ameila Keesey, an SBB student involved in the dietary analysis.


She collected scat from the harbor every other week, then dried, weighed and sieved it, identifying prey species and measuring the biomass of those species.


“Even though we collected and compared so much data from before and after the heatwave, there are still so many questions to answer when looking at sea otters as a species,” Keesey said.

Amelia Keesey and her partner weigh sea otter scat from the Homer harbor on March 13, 2026. (Photo by Javin Schroder)


Other SBB students interning with AVPS this semester have gained firsthand experience in marine mammal response by assisting with the examination of deceased sea otters reported on Homer’s beaches. Under AVPS guidance, permits, brief exams and biosampling for pathogen and toxin surveillance are being performed. These samples can help identify the potential causes of mortality, including testing of emerging threats such as influenza A virus, recently confirmed in sea otters along California’s coast.


“Interning through AVPS has taught me new skills of how to properly collect samples and document incidents. It’s been a great opportunity and a fun experience to work with fellow interns,” said Nikki Boege, an SBB student involved in stranding response.


“This semester with AVPS has taught me so much about animal anatomy and necropsy science. I’m so happy to have gotten this experience and been able to contribute to long-term monitoring of sea otter health,” said Brookelynn Gotschall, another SBB AVPS intern. Monitoring efforts from the students and stranding responders strengthen AVPS’s ability to understand what’s happening in our waters and respond effectively to marine mammal health concerns. 

SBB AVPS interns respond to a sea otter on Diamond Creek, Homer, February 20, 2026. (Photo by Nikki Boege)


Whether you’re a longtime resident of Homer or a curious visitor, this showcase is an opportunity to see how local research shapes our understanding of sea otters and the ecosystem we share with them. Learn more from KBC, AVPS and KBNERR, 4:30 to 7:00 p.m., April 28, as they share their discoveries, present months of hard work and highlight why marine mammal research matters to the future of Kachemak Bay.