Phil

Associate Professor Phil Taylor

Department of Biological Sciences,
Macquarie University,
NSW 2109,
Australia

Tel: +61 (0)2 9850 1311
Fax: +61 (0)2 9850 4299

e-mail: phil.taylor@mq.edu.au

Publications list

Researcher ID

Brief Biography

Following a Bachelors degree (Hons 1) in Horticultural Science (Entomology) at Lincoln University, I completed my PhD with Robert Jackson at University of Canterbury, where I worked on communication, contest resolution and predation of a New Zealand jumping spider, Trite planiceps. Continuing the general theme of my PhD research, I then worked as a post-doc with Oren Hasson at The Hebrew University, where I carried out a range of studies investigating the amplifier mechanism of honest signalling and mechanisms of contest resolution using the cosmopolitan jumping spider Plexuppus paykulli as a model. I stayed on at the Hebrew university in a second post-doc with Boaz Yuval, working on pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection in Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata aka 'medflies'). Medflies are a devastating pest of horticultural crops, causing costly crop damage and quarantine restrictions in developed economies and contributing to poverty in developing nations. They are managed globally by the environmentally benign Sterile Insect Technique in which millions, or even billions, of sterile flies are released to sexually out-compete wild populations. This was a great opportunity to apply some of the concepts and techniques I had become familiar with in Animal Behaviour/Behavioural Ecology to economic, social and enviromnmental advantage, and this line of research has been rekindled in more recent work on the Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni). After a brief stint teaching at Alma College in Michigan, I spent two years working with George Uetz at Universty of Cinicannati on multi-modal communication in Schizocosa wolf spiders before taking up a position at Macquarie University.

Positions

2009 - present Associate Professor / Vice Chancellor's Innovation Research Fellow, Macquarie University
2006 - 2008      Senior Lecturer / Vice Chancellor's Innovation Research Fellow, Macquarie University
2006 - 2008      President, Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASSAB)
2005 - 2006      Vice-President, Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASSAB)
2002 - 2006      Lecturer/Millenium Research Fellow, Macquarie University
2000 - 2002      Research Fellow, University of Cincinnati, USA
1999 - 2000      Lecturer, Alma College, USA
1996 - 1999      Research Fellow, The Hebrew University, Israel

Education

1998 PhD (Zoology), University of Canterbury, New Zealand
1990 Bachelor of Horticultural Science (Entomology) (Hons 1), Lincoln University, New Zealand

Teaching

I present guest lectures in:

BBE100 : Introduction to Brain, Behaviour & Evolution
BBE200 : Animal Behaviour
BIOL260: Biology of Sex

Associate Professor Phil Taylor
	Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia Tel: +61 (0)2 9850 1311 Fax: +61 (0)2 9850 4299 e-mail: phil.taylor@mq.edu.au Publications list Researcher ID
Brief Biography Following a Bachelors degree (Hons 1) in Horticultural Science (Entomology) at Lincoln University, I completed my PhD with Robert Jackson at University of Canterbury, where I worked on communication, contest resolution and predation of a New Zealand jumping spider, Trite planiceps. Continuing the general theme of my PhD research, I then worked as a post-doc with Oren Hasson at The Hebrew University, where I carried out a range of studies investigating the amplifier mechanism of honest signalling and mechanisms of contest resolution using the cosmopolitan jumping spider Plexuppus paykulli as a model. I stayed on at the Hebrew university in a second post-doc with Boaz Yuval, working on pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection in Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata aka 'medflies'). Medflies are a devastating pest of horticultural crops, causing costly crop damage and quarantine restrictions in developed economies and contributing to poverty in developing nations. They are managed globally by the environmentally benign Sterile Insect Technique in which millions, or even billions, of sterile flies are released to sexually out-compete wild populations. This was a great opportunity to apply some of the concepts and techniques I had become familiar with in Animal Behaviour/Behavioural Ecology to economic, social and enviromnmental advantage, and this line of research has been rekindled in more recent work on the Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni). After a brief stint teaching at Alma College in Michigan, I spent two years working with George Uetz at Universty of Cinicannati on multi-modal communication in Schizocosa wolf spiders before taking up a position at Macquarie University. Positions 2009 - present Associate Professor / Vice Chancellor's Innovation Research Fellow, Macquarie University 2006 - 2008 Senior Lecturer / Vice Chancellor's Innovation Research Fellow, Macquarie University 2006 - 2008 President, Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASSAB) 2005 - 2006 Vice-President, Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASSAB) 2002 - 2006 Lecturer/Millenium Research Fellow, Macquarie University 2000 - 2002 Research Fellow, University of Cincinnati, USA 1999 - 2000 Lecturer, Alma College, USA 1996 - 1999 Research Fellow, The Hebrew University, Israel Education 1998 PhD (Zoology), University of Canterbury, New Zealand 1990 Bachelor of Horticultural Science (Entomology) (Hons 1), Lincoln University, New Zealand Teaching I present guest lectures in: BBE100 : Introduction to Brain, Behaviour & Evolution BBE200 : Animal Behaviour BIOL260: Biology of Sex