Than J. Boves, Ph.D.

I was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago and I became fascinated with birds and nature at an early age. I have since formalized my broad interests into a diverse research program that covers many topics within ornithology, ecology, evolution, and conservation. I love my job and also love travel, music, sports, beer, forests, mountains, and rivers. I have a wife, son, and daughter that also love travel, music, sports, and nature.
Current Graduate Students
Ty Sharrow 
MS Student (co-advised with Virginie Rolland)

[email protected]

While growing up in northeast Pennsylvania, I spent much of my time exploring the forest where my passion and curiosity for nature began to take hold. I was able to see firsthand how we humans have altered and degraded the landscape instilling in me the need for conservation action. I went on to earn my B.S. in Wildlife Biology with a minor in psychology from Keystone College and have worked on several research projects concerning grassland bird nesting ecology, snake chemical sensing abilities, and Northern Bobwhite habitat preferences. Wanting to contribute to building a more sustainable society, I joined the Boves and Rolland lab in January 2022 to study raptors as pest control. For this research, I will be investigating the effectiveness of American Kestrels and Barn Owls to control pest abundance in agricultural fields and grain mills to reduce the necessity of pesticides while supporting wild bird populations. ​
Alix Matthews
​PhD Student (co-advised with
​Asela Wijeratne)

​[email protected]

I'm from North Little Rock, Arkansas and have always been intrigued by how species coexist and how ecosystems function. I earned my BSc in Environmental Sciences from Rhodes College in 2014 and my MSc in Biological Sciences from Arkansas State University in 2017. My interest in symbioses has primarily focused on exploring birds and their "endos-and-ectos" (passerine haemoparasites, feather mites), but I also dabbled in the fungus-farming ant world (an incredibly interesting symbiosis) at the University of Texas at Tyler as a research lab manager from 2017-2019. Now I've migrated back to the Boves Lab, blazing the trail as a Molecular Biosciences PhD student, where I'm building off of my master's research to test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses regarding the fascinating symbiosis between feather mites and warblers.


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​Emily Donahue
​PhD Student (co-advised with
​Lori Neuman-Lee)

​[email protected]

I grew up in the forests of Northeast Pennsylvania and earned my BS in Wildlife and Fisheries Science at Penn State University. After my professors and local birding community in Happy Valley ignited my passion for wildlife research, I joined the Boves Lab at Arkansas State University to study non-breeding Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus; aka the butcher bird) behavior and habitat selection. I received my MS in Biology in 2020 and am continuing at A-State to pursue my PhD in Molecular Biosciences under the joint guidance of Drs. Than Boves and Lori Neuman-Lee. I am interested in how organisms interact with and respond to their environments at the behavioral, physiological, and molecular levels. I am particularly interested in how anthropogenic pressures influence these dynamics, both within an individual and across an ecosystem. I am excited to continue honing my field and lab skills while investigating the breeding ecology of shrikes and the potential effects of pesticide exposure on shrikes and their prey in an agricultural landscape.
William "Cayce" Guy
MS Student (co-advised with Michele Reba)
[email protected]
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I was born and raised in Arkansas and have always been in love with nature. Growing up as a “free-range” child, I grew up exploring wilderness areas. I became passionate about wildlife, nature, and the drive to protect wildlife during my wilderness excursions. While earning my bachelor’s degree at Hendrix College, I learned the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to answering complex scientific questions. As a master’s degree Environmental Sciences student in The Boves Lab, I am interested in the relationships between people and wildlife. I plan on investigating agricultural practices that are better for birds and for the environment. I am also fascinated by avian evolution and biodiversity. Some of my hobbies are fishing, archery, ultimate frisbee, and enjoying live music.        


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Brandon Dunnahoo
MS Student 
[email protected]
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I developed a love for nature and the outdoors while growing up in the Central Texas Hill Country surrounding Austin, Texas. I received my BSc in Wildlife Biology from Texas State University in 2018. After graduating with my BSc, I worked for three years as a seasonal field technician across the country in Texas, California, New Mexico, and New Jersey. In that time, I worked with focal species including Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles, Golden-cheeked Warblers, California Scrub-Jays, Semipalmated Sandpipers, fleas carrying the plague, and various western songbird and small mammal species. Through my travels I carried my love of birding, and was able to work and live in some of the most diverse bird habitats in the United States, including the coastal bend of Texas, Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California, and Cape May in Southern New Jersey. I’ve joined the Boves lab in order to pursue my passion for avian ecological research. I am interested in conducting research on the most mysterious and intriguing family of birds, the nightjars.
Alex Worm
PhD Student (co-advised with 
​Drew Sweet)
[email protected] ​
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I’m a central Arkansas native that is turning a lifelong love of the natural world into a research career. I earned my BS in Wildlife Ecology and Management from A-State in 2013. During undergrad, I conducted research on over-wintering Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels. I joined the Boves lab in 2014 to work on range expansion and hybridization of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Western Kingbirds for my MS in Biology. After graduating in 2017, I worked as an instructor at Hendrix College and A-State and as an avian tech with NC Wildlife Resources Commission. I returned to the Boves lab (2021) to continue work with Tyrant Flycatchers. Specifically, I will be continuing research on the hybridization between Scissor-tails and Western Kingbirds, incorporating whole-genome sequencing. Another aspect of my work will focus on comparing co-phylogenetic divergence of a clade of kingbirds and their ectoparasites.​
Jacob Miranda
MS Student 
​jacobmir99@gmail.com

My passion for wildlife blossomed from a young age, in my home state of Pennsylvania. Areas such as the Delaware Water Gap and Presque Isle State Park fascinated me, and as I got older my curiosity around the natural world grew. In 2017 I began a BSc in conservation and wildlife management at Delaware Valley University where my specific interests in birds originated. After reading about the extirpation of the Lyalls Wren from Stephens Island, I knew I wanted to pursue a career working specifically with endangered species. Since graduating I have worked in many areas of the ornithology field including: counting migrating raptors at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in PA, deploying transmitters on grassland birds in Oklahoma, and helping with piping plover (a threatened shorebird species) nest searching in New Jersey. I joined the Boves lab to earn a masters in biology and conduct research on cerulean warblers, a threatened arboreal songbird species.
Colin Dobson
MS Student
[email protected]

Originally from Illinois, my interest in birds started at the ripe age of seven and I have never turned back! While growing up, I used to be one of those, 'extreme listers' and traverse the whole state trying to get to know all of the birds in every corner. All of those 300+ species big years are now in the past and now I am onto bigger and better things! I am a recent graduate from the University of Illinois (ILL-) with a BS. in Natural Resources and Environment Sciences with a concentration in Wildlife Biology! There, I coordinated a few research projects which included investigating window collisions on campus and monitoring bird compositions on organic farm practices. I became the president of the local Audubon chapter, Champaign County Audubon Society in January 2021 and will leave my position at the end of 2023! When not sidetracked by the latest bird sighting or research topic, you can find me chasing storms, hitting a golf ball, or running every morning in the country north of Jonesboro. I am a new Master's Student in the Boves lab studying Wetland Reserve Easements and how effective they are for birds and create a better monitoring system for these easements. 
Current Undergraduate Students
Ethan Saffle - Cerulean Warbler Ecology, Raptors as Pest Control
Autumn Snooks - Raptors as Pest Control
Alumni
Graduate Students
Kevin Krajcir (M.S. Spring 2022; Studied the functional nature of the symbiosis between feather mites and birds) - Currently a PhD student at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA.
Emily Donahue (M.S. Fall 2020; Studied non-breeding ecology of Loggerhead Shrikes in agricultural landscapes) - Currently a PhD student in Molecular Biosciences at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AR.  
Jacob Wessels (M.S. Spring 2020; Studied Cerulean Warbler Ecology in the Ozarks) - Currently living in Knoxville, TN working as seasonal biological field tech.
Joe Youtz (M.S. Spring 2020; Studied the manifestation of Bergmann's Rule in PROW and Landscape ecology in the Mississippi Delta) - Currently a PhD student at LSU studying marsh bird management and conservation.
Lee Bryant (M.S. Spring 2018; Studied the impact of the decline of eastern hemlock on Lousiana Waterthrush) - Currently working for Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and Institute for Bird Populations and living in Fort Collins, CO.
Alex Worm (M.S. Fall 2017; Studied range expansion and hybridization of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Western Kingbirds) - Currently PhD student at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AR.
Jennifer Wilcox (M.S. Fall 2017; Studied forest management in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley) - Currently living in Las Vegas, NV and working for WEST, Inc. doing avian fieldwork in the western United States.
Morgan Slevin (M.S. Summer 2017; Studied Prothonotary Warblers in bottomland forests) - Currently PhD student in Neurobiology at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL.
Alix Matthews (M.S. Spring 2017; Studied avian-feather mite co-ecology and evolution) - Currently PhD student in Molecular Biosciences at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AR.
Dr. Doug Raybuck (M.S. Fall 2016; Studied post-fledging habitat selection by Cerulean Warblers) - Completed his PhD in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN.
Undergraduate Students
Shelby Thacker - Raptors as Pest Control (Summer 2022)
Joshua Andrews - Raptors as Pest Control (2022-23)
Aiyana Dawson - Various projects (Fall 2021)
Tryniti Garred - Raptors as Pest Control (Fall 2019-Spring 2022)
Kendall Lee - Feather mite systematics (Spring and Summer 2021)
Elizabeth Corbin - Loggerhead Shrike Prey Choice (Fall 2020-Summer 2021)
Bill Page - Various projects (Spring 2019-Fall 2020)
Cody Barnett  - Feather mite biology and ecology (Fall 2017-Spring 2020)
Rhett Raibley - Jack of all trades (Fall 2015-Spring 2020)
Brett Harken - Various projects (Spring-Fall 2019)
Callie Wilson - Using raptors as pest control in the Mississippi Delta (Fall 2017-Spring 2019)
Emily Orfanos - Loggerhead Shrikes in agricultural landscapes (2016-17)
Kara Oliver - Loggerhead Shrikes in agricultural landscapes (2016-17)
Kassidy Richardson - Mites and warblers; Bird-window collisions (2015-16)
Sarah Wilcox - Mites and birds; Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Western Kingbird Hybridization (Fall 2014 - Fall 2015)
Courtney Francois - Mites and birds; Physiology of biliverdin; Window collisions (Fall 2015 - Spring 2016)
Mitchell Curtis - Nest behavior of Prothonotary Warblers (Spring 2015 - Spring 2016)
Breaunna Jackson - Provisioning of Prothonotary Warblers in natural cavities and nest boxes (Fall 2014 - Spring 2015)
Luke Methvin - Effects of forest management on nest behavior (Fall 2014 - Spring 2015)
Peter Hasik - Range expansion of Western Kingbirds and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers (Summer 2014)
Arin Vann - Factors driving Bird-Window Collisions (Fall 2014)
Brent Wagner - Factors driving Bird-Window Collisions (Fall 2014)
Erica Olney - Factors driving Bird-Window Collisions (Fall 2014)
LeeVi Haas - Comparative Study of Biliverdin and Prothonotary Warbler Nest Box Project (Spring 2014)
Jennifer Reed - CORT as a mediator of carry-over effects in Cerulean Warblers (Fall 2013)