Scott Hatch, Ph.D.
Collaborating Scientist & Founder, Institute for Seabird Research and Conservation (ISRC)
Scott is a wildlife biologist with a 37-year employment history at federal agencies in Alaska (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey) (retired 2012). As the self-appointed "Mayor of Middleton Island," he has worked there annually since 1986. After more than 40 years of field work in Alaska, Middleton remains one of his favorite places.
Kyle Elliott, Ph.D.
Research Scientist & Professor/Canada Research Chair in Arctic Ecology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Kyle is an assistant professor at McGill University. He completed his PhD at the University of Manitoba using data collected at Middleton in 2010, 2012 and 2013, and has been hooked ever since. His PhD focused on senescence in black-legged kittiwakes. More recently, he has worked on tracking of kittiwakes, auklets, puffins and glaucous-winged gulls to answer a variety of behavioral, physiological and ecological questions.
Morgan Benowitz-Fredericks, Ph.D.
Research Scientist & Professor, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
Morgan is an associate professor at Bucknell University. She first came to Middleton as a graduate student (University of Washington) in 2003, but was not able to "come home" again to this incredible site until 2016. Her 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 & Associate, National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Toulouse, France
Sarah is a behavioural ecologist with a particular interest in mate choice in seabirds. She is a researcher working at the CNRS in Toulouse, France. She first came to Middleton as a PhD student from 2007 to 2010, and then came as a PI in 2016-2018. Her work on Middleton mainly focuses on immunogenetic-based mate choice in black-legged kittiwakes and the associated sexual signals.
Yumi Arimitsu, Ph.D.
Research Ecologist, Ocean Bight LLC
Yumi leads the Gulf Watch Alaska Pelagic Ecosystem Component and the Forage Fish Monitoring Project. Her research is focused on predator-prey dynamics and monitoring forage fish trends for ecosystem-based management.
Shannon Whelan, Ph.D.
Science Director, 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.
Akiko Shoji, Ph.D.
Research Scientist & Professor, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Akiko is a behavioural ecologist with a particular interest in seabirds and birds of prey. She did her M.Sc. at the University of Ottawa, Canada, under Dr. Tony Gaston's supervision, and then moved to the UK and did her D.Phil. at the University of Oxford & Merton College under Prof Tim Guilford's supervision. She returned to Japan in 2016 and has begun to collaborate with the Middleton Island team on various projects.