The Middleton Island
Marine Biological Station

About the Island

A Strategic Location for Marine Science

Middleton Island, situated about 60 miles off the coast in the north-central Gulf of Alaska, is home to a marine field station unlike any other in the world. Research and monitoring conducted there since 1978 is furnishing data relevant to marine ecosystem management in the Gulf and the northeastern Pacific generally.

The island itself lies smack in the middle of the main east-to-west flowing currents in the Gulf of Alaska. Well-separated from the coast, the island is little influenced by such factors as orogenic weather or variable freshwater inputs, making it an ideal location for oceanic research.

Meet the Team

Leading Researchers

Our international team of scientists brings decades of expertise to seabird research and marine ecosystem studies.

Scott Hatch, Ph.D.

Founder, Institute for Seabird Research and Conservation

Scott has 37 years of experience with federal agencies in Alaska and has been working at Middleton since 1978. As the self-appointed "Mayor of Middleton Island," he has overseen the transformation of Cold War infrastructure into a world-class research facility.

Kyle Elliott, Ph.D.

Professor/Canada Research Chair, McGill University

Kyle completed his PhD using data collected at Middleton and has been hooked ever since. His research focuses on tracking kittiwakes, auklets, puffins and gulls to answer behavioral, physiological and ecological questions.

Morgan Benowitz-Fredericks, Ph.D.

Professor, Bucknell University

Morgan's work capitalizes on Middleton's incredible potential for experimental research on free-living seabirds, exploring the physiology and endocrinology of chick development and life-history of kittiwakes.

Sarah Leclaire, Ph.D.

Research Scientist, CNRS, France

Sarah is a behavioral ecologist with particular interest in mate choice in seabirds. Her work on Middleton focuses on immunogenetic-based mate choice in black-legged kittiwakes and associated sexual signals.

Akiko Shoji, Ph.D.

Research Scientist & Professor, University of Tsukuba, Japan

Akiko is a behavioral ecologist with particular interest in seabirds and birds of prey. She collaborates with the Middleton Island team on various research projects studying avian behavior and ecology.

Shannon Whelan, Ph.D.

Science Director, Institute for Seabird Research and Conservation (ISRC)

Shannon leads the Core Research Program at ISRC, overseeing logistics and monitoring efforts at the Middleton Island research station. Her research is focused on long-term monitoring, biologging, and endocrinology.

Yumi Arimitsu, Ph.D.

Research Ecologist, Ocean Bight LLC

Yumi is a Juneau-based marine ecologist with over two decades of expertise in North Pacific marine food webs, specializing in the forage fish and zooplankton that sustain seabirds and marine mammals. She leads the Gulf Watch Alaska Pelagic Ecosystem Component and Forage Fish Monitoring Project. Her research focuses on predator-prey dynamics and monitoring forage fish trends to inform ecosystem-based management.

Featured Coverage

Research Highlights

Recent discoveries and findings from Middleton Island research making waves in the scientific community and beyond.

McGill University Masters Project

Interactive Prey Distribution Maps: Coupling Diet and Foraging Behavior

Led by Katelyn Depot (McGill University), this interactive Shiny application maps spatial distribution of seabird prey by coupling diet analysis with foraging behavior data from Middleton Island. The tool provides dynamic visualization of how surface-feeding seabirds locate and exploit prey resources across the Gulf of Alaska. The featured infographic (above), also created by Katelyn Depot as part of her Masters project, appears in the Delta Sounds Connection 2026 article "Seabirds as Ocean Detectives: Tracking Trends in Forage Fish Communties from Prince William Sound to the Shelf Break and Beyond."

Explore the interactive maps Read the Delta Sounds Connection 2026 feature

Audubon Alaska

Rebuilding a Tower That Seabirds—and Science—Depend On

This feature highlights how storm repairs to Middleton Island's research tower protected one of the Gulf of Alaska's most important long-term seabird monitoring sites. The rebuilt walls expanded nesting space for kittiwakes and preserved the close-up access essential to this year's seabird monitoring and long-term ecosystem research.

Read the full story

Support Our Mission

Help Protect This Living Laboratory

Field operations at Middleton are part of Gulf Watch Alaska and receive funding mainly through cooperative agreements. But making ends meet budget-wise is a perennial challenge. Your tax-deductible contribution helps grow a permanent endowment fund for facility maintenance and core monitoring programs.