Natalie Rouse

College of Santa Fe
Bachelor of Arts 
2003

University of Alaska
Master of Science
2018

Lara Horstmann

A native to the Midwest, I started my career as a field biologist in the western united states and then transitioned to wildlife health. Since 2012 I've lived and worked in Alaska in various positions within the marine mammal stranding network. These days I call Anchorage home and when not working, you will find me skiing, biking and hiking with my husband, 2 children and 2 dogs.

Rouse, NM, K Burek-Huntington, CEC Goertz, N Hunter, S Radhakrishnan, T Ford. 2025.
Erysipelothrix in Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA: an emerging bacterial pathogen of the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. 163:1-16. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03859

Rouse N, J Buttler, K Pabilonia, C Weller, L Respicio-Kingry, E Dietrich, E Dietrich, J Petersen, G Kovalenko, E Bortz, and K Burek Huntington. 2025. Francisella tularensis subspecies holarctica in stranded beluga whales, Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA. Emerg Infect Dis. 31 (6) https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3106.250033

Lefebvre KA, CM Campbell, LM Divine, P Melovidov, H Hellen, K Burek Huntington, EK Bowers, N Rouse, E Fachon, TJ Farrugia, RS Pickart, P Lin, L Lago, F Bahr, E Furst, CG Duncan, P Charapata, DM Anderson, G Kurtay. 2025. Saxitoxin linked to deaths of northern fur seals in the Southeast Bering Sea. Marine Mammal Science. Pp. 1-11 https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.70028

Puryear W, R Canas-Arranz, K Sawatzki, N Hill, A Foss, N Rouse, C Pace, K Burek Huntington, A van de Guchte, Z Khalil, A Gonzalez-Reiche, RL Pearl, S Guerro-García, H van Bakel, RA Albrecht, A García-Sastre, and J Runstadler. In review 2024. Isolation and characterization of a novel H3N6 from a Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) in the North Pacific. Emerging Infectious Diseases

Pace C, Goertz CEC, Woodie K, Belovarac J, Rouse N, Abraham T, Tuomi P, Garner M. 2023. Histological Analysis of Testicular Development and Sexual Maturation in Rehabilitated Northern Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 54(2): 67-373. DOI: 10.1638/2022-0129

Rouse N, Burek Huntington K. 2023. Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) with valvular endocarditis, encephalitis, rhabdomyolysis, heavy parasitism, and fungal dermatitis. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 155:1-6. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03736

Rouse NM, Counihan KL, Boege Tobin DD, Goertz CEC 2021. Habitat Associations between Streptococcus bovis/equinus complex and Streptococcus phocae, the causative agents of strep syndrome in sea otters, and the marine environment. Marine Ecology. http://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12689

Full list of publications

• Marine mammal disease
• Necropsy
• Wildlife health

I am interested in interactions of wildlife, pathogens and the environment. 

My current research focuses on topics in beluga whale health in Alaska. I am examining  patterns of infection with two bacteria of concern for Cook Inlet beluga (Francisella tularensis and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae). Additionally I hope to use molecular techniques to determine the intermediate host of Crassicauda giliakiana, a parasitic nematode of beluga whales. I am also interested in the movement of pathogens in the face of changing oceans and the development of diagnostic systems and techniques for disease surveillance in rural Alaska. 

Interactions of streptococcus infantarius ss coli and streptococcus phocae in Resurrection and Kachemak Bay.

• Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services
• University of Alaska Anchorage 

To explore interactions of pathogens, wildlife and the environment.