Sea otters may seem like cute and fluffy animals, but their bodies offer clues to the condition of coastal waters — the same waters that humans use, play, and work in. U.S. Geological Survey geneticist Liz Bowen studies how sea otters can tell us about marine ecosystem health. Bowen, a USGS researcher based on the UC Davis campus, will explain how RNA in blood and tissue samples collected from wild sea otters can serve as indicators of environmental change. This segment originally aired November 12, 2014 as part of the Davis Science Café series. An upcoming Science Café will feature a discussion on using food waste to power your home, led by UC Davis Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering Ruihong Zhang.