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
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.​
Ethan Saffle
MS Student
​[email protected]

I grew up in Bryant, Arkansas and experienced the natural world through Scouting which sparked my passion to protect and learn about wildlife. I earned my BS in Wildlife, Conservation and Fisheries with a concentration in Wildlife from A-State in 2024. During my undergrad, I conducted research on artificial reproductive techniques in Fowler’s Toads. Then transitioned to a field technician in the Boves lab working with several graduate students on their respective projects. Through that experience I knew I wanted to pursue a career working with birds. I joined the Boves lab as a MS student in 2024 to study a imperiled songbird species. I will be conducting research on the Cerulean Warbler in order to understand how past forest management has affected their breeding ecology and demographics in the Ozark ecoregion.




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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.
Jacob Wyco
PhD Student
[email protected]
​I am a Chicago-native whose love for nature started as a child. My dad and I would bird across Illinois, with birds always fascinating me. I graduated with my B.A. from Augustana College where I helped with research on painted turtles and various species of Arctic birds. It was in Greenland, watching a Peregrine Falcon fly over the tundra, where I decided to pursue a career in research. I obtained my M.S. from Austin Peay State University, where I studied the color differences of White-throated Sparrows under the guidance of Dr. Stefan Woltmann. I joined the Boves lab in 2025 to study a fascinating system, birds and their feather mites. I will be investigating different interactions between feather mites and their avian hosts; including how non-breeding behaviors in warblers contribute to feather mite transmission and what factors drive feather mite recolonization on a host. 
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. ​
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.​
Current Undergraduate Students
Abri Franke
Alumni
Graduate Students
Ty Sharrow (M.S. Spring 2025; Studied American Kestrels as agents of pest control in intensive agriculture) - Currently a biologist with Ducks Unlimited.
Alix Matthew (PhD Spring 2024; Studied feather mite bird interactions and evolution) - Currently a Postdoc at University of Buffalo
Kevin Krajcir (M.S. Spring 2022; Studied the functional nature of the symbiosis between feather mites and birds) - Currently a biologist with Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission
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 a PhD student at Mississippi State University. 
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 New Mexico State University. 
Lee Bryant (M.S. Spring 2018; Studied the impact of the decline of eastern hemlock on Lousiana Waterthrush) - Currently working for 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 in Boca Raton, FL.
Alix Matthews (M.S. Spring 2017; Studied avian-feather mite co-ecology and evolution) - Currently a post-doc at the University of Buffalo.
Dr. Doug Raybuck (M.S. Fall 2016; Studied post-fledging habitat selection by Cerulean Warblers) - Completed a biologist with the Department of Defense. 
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)