By Dr. Heather Mathewson | Associate Professor, Department of Wildlife and Natural Resources
At the 2025 Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society Conference, Alexander Hoxie, a master’s student in the Mathewson Lab was presented with the Clarence Cottam Award. This award is the most prestigious student award given by the Texas Chapter, and is awarded to the top presenter in a special presentation session for Master’s and Ph.D. students who are nearing completion of their graduate research. Presenters are judged based off the scientific merit of their research, quality of their methods and results, the validity of their conclusions, and their scientific communication skills.
Hoxie’s presentation, titled “Addressing Assumptions of Nonlethal Monitoring of Microplastic Contamination in House Sparrow Nestlings” covered a portion of his thesis research conducted under Dr. Heather Mathewson as part of a larger collaborative study that is exploring the effects of climate and anthropogenic pressures on house sparrows, using them as a model species for many native songbirds.
“This is a great honor,” Hoxie said, “and I am very grateful to the members of my lab who gave me edits and helped me practice in our lab meetings leading up to the conference. I would not have been able to stay on track in spite of the technical difficulties I had during my presentation without their support.”
