Auburn University
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Auburn University

Robert S. Boyd, Ph.D., Professor

Office Location: 
026 Rouse Life Sciences Bldg.

Mailing Address:
Department of Biological Sciences
101 Rouse Life Sciences Bldg.
Auburn University, AL 36849
Tel: (334) 844-1626
Fax: (334) 844-1645
boydrob@auburn.edu
Laboratory Web Page

Education
1986- Ph.D., Botany, University of California, Davis
1979- M.S., Biology, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California
1977- B.S., Biology (summa cum laude), California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California
1974- A.A., Pre-medicine, Mount San Antonio College, Walnut, California

Research & Teaching Interests
Ecology of metal hyperaccumulation by plants, natural history and management of rare southeastern plant species.

Recent Publications

Boyd, R.S. 2007. The defense hypothesis of elemental hyperaccumulation: status, challenges and new directions. Plant and Soil 293:153-176.

Boyd, R.S., M.A. Davis, M.A. Wall and K. Balkwill. 2007. Host-herbivore studies of Stenoscepa sp. (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae), a high-Ni herbivore of the South African Ni hyperaccumulator Berkheya coddii (Asteraceae). Insect Science 14:133-143.

Boyd, R.S., M.A. Davis, M.A. Wall and K. Balkwill. 2006. Metal concentrations of insects associated with the South African Ni hyperaccumulator Berkheya coddii (Asteraceae). Insect Science 13:85-102.

Diamond, A.R., Jr., D.R. Folkerts and R.S. Boyd. 2006. Pollination biology, seed dispersal and recruitment in Rudbeckia auriculata (Perdue) Kral, a rare southeastern endemic. Castanea 71:226-238.

Jhee, E.M., R.S. Boyd and M.D. Eubanks. 2006. Effectiveness of metal-metal and metal-organic compound combinations against Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae): Implications for plant elemental defense. Journal of Chemical Ecology 32:239-259.

Courses:

Undergraduate Graduate
BIOL 1000 Introduction to Biology BIOL 6090 Conservation Biology
BIOL 1030 Organismal Biology BIOL 6140 Plant Ecology
BIOL 3060 Principles of Ecology BIOL 7560 Plant-Animal Interactions
BIOL 5090 Conservation Biology  
BIOL 5140 Plant Ecology