Professor, Department of Biology
Virginia Polytechnic Insitute & State University
Ph.D. Cornell University 1984
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John B. Phillips Professor, Department of Biology Virginia Polytechnic Insitute & State University Ph.D. Cornell University 1984 |
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Dr.Phillips's primary interest is in sensory specializations underlying behavior, in particular, specializations involved in
vision and magnetoreception. The emphasis of this work is on understanding how sensory information constrains behavior and how
sensory systems become specialized to function in particular behavioral contexts. Techniques include behavioral observations
carried out under controlled laboratory settings, psychophysical measurements of visual sensitivity, and electrophysiological
recordings from visual receptors. Current projects include behavioral and neurophysiological studies of insects, fish,
amphibians, and birds. Research is currently under way in the following areas: (1) the role of specialized visual receptors
in detection of the earth's magnetic field, (2) the sensory basis of the navigational map of vertebrates, (3) the integration of
visual and nonvisual directional information used for compass orientation and homing, and (4) visual mechanisms involved in
mate choice, foraging behavior, and microhabitat selection.
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| R E P R E S E N T A T I V E P U B L I C A T I O N S |
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John B. Phillips. 1990. Lek behaviour in birds: Do displaying males reduce nest predation? Animal Behaviour 39:555-565. (Abstract) John B. Phillips and Frank R. Moore. 1992. Calibration of the sun compass by sunset polarized light patterns in a migratory bird. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 31:189-193. (Abstract) John B. Phillips and S. Chris Borland. 1992. Behavioural evidence for use of a light-dependent magnetoreception mechanism by a vertebrate. Nature 359:142-144. (Abstract) J.B. Phillips and O. Sayeed. 1992. Wavelength-dependent effects of light on magnetic compass orientation in Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 172:303-308. (Abstract) Mark E. Deutschlander and John B. Phillips. 1995. Characterization of an ultraviolet photoreception mechanism in the retina of an amphibian, the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum). Neuroscience Letters 197: 93-96. (Abstract) John B. Phillips. 1996. Magnetic navigation. Journal of Theoretical Biology 180:309-319. (Abstract) U. Munro, J.A. Munro, J.B. Phillips, R. Wiltschko & W. Wiltschko. 1997. Evidence for a magnetite-based navigational 'map' in birds. Naturwissenschaf 84:26-28. (Abstract) Deutschlander M.E., S.C. Borland, and J.B. Phillips. 1999. Extraocular magnetic compass in newts. Nature 400(6742):324-325. (Abstract) |
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C O N T A C T Department of Biology (0406) Virginia Polytechnic Insitute & State University Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA FAX: 540.231.9307 Office: 540.231.7212 e-mail: jphillip@vt.edu VA Tech web page: http://www.biology.vt.edu/Department/research/faculty/Phillips/phillips.htm |
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