Rate My Professor Joe Poston

Dr. Joe Poston serves as Professor of Biology and Chair of the Biology Department at Catawba College. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a dissertation on male competition for mates and mechanisms of mate choice by females in the boat-tailed grackle (Quiscalus major) in 1995. His academic interests center on ornithology, ecology, animal behavior, and conservation biology. Poston holds significant roles in wildlife conservation, including as an Expert Affiliate on the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee (term expires June 30, 2025), member of the Scientific Council for Birds in North Carolina, and participant on the North Carolina Bird Atlas Steering Committee and Scientific Committee. Over his career at Catawba College, he has advanced from Associate Professor to Professor, contributing to departmental leadership and strategic planning as co-chair of the college's strategic plan committee.

Poston’s research has produced influential publications in behavioral ecology and ornithology. Notable works include 'Perspective: indirect mate choice, competition for mates, and coevolution of the sexes' (Evolution, 1996), cited 384 times; 'Dietary amino acids influence plumage traits and immune responses of male house sparrows, Passer domesticus, but not as expected' (Animal Behaviour, 2005), cited 130 times; 'Dominance, access to colonies, and queues for mating opportunities by male boat-tailed grackles' (Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1997), cited 51 times; and 'Genomic variation in the Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens) suggests divergence in a disjunct Atlantic Coastal Plain population (S. v. waynei)' (Ornithology, 2022). He co-authored the Boat-tailed Grackle account for the Birds of North Carolina and contributed to the Birds of the World series. Recent publications address insect phenology across North America (Ecology, 2023) and global biodiversity framework targets for insect declines (Conservation Letters, 2026). Poston leads immersive field courses, such as trips to Bonaire for marine biology, Rwanda for African conservation, and regional sites for salamander surveys and red wolf studies. He mentors students who have earned top honors at regional biology meetings and presented research at professional conferences. Additionally, he has delivered public lectures, including on eco-photography in 2018.