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William Perry

Dr William Perry

(he/him)

Postdoctoral Research Associate

School of Biosciences

Email
PerryW1@cardiff.ac.uk
Campuses
Sir Martin Evans Building, Room Water Research Institute, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX
Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

Freshwater environments face a myriad of anthropogenic pressures which are causing biodiversity loss at an alarming rate, eroding the ecosystems on which we depend. This is the primary driver of my research.

With a background in molecular ecology, my focus has become increasingly data orientated with the utilization of a broad array of analytical approaches to understand how biological systems are responding to anthropogenic pressures, in terms of their ecology and evolution.

The use of environmental DNA and high throughput sequencing for biodiversity monitoring is of particular interest, due to this technique’s powerful ability to produce unprecedented amounts of data on biological communities.

While I have worked with many biological systems, including viruses, bacteria, invertebrates and plants, much of my research has focused on fish. My passion for fish research has led to my appointment as a Senior Editor for the Journal of Fish Biology, as well as Publicity Coordinator for the Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI).

 

Publication

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2016

Erthyglau

Biography

I am currently based at the Water Research Institute in the School of Biosciences working as a postdoctoral researcher on the Long-Term Large-Scale Freshwater Ecosystems (LTLS-FE) project. I am modelling freshwater biodiversity in the UK over long periods of time to better understand what is impacting biodiversity, as well as to predict biodiversity under future scenarios.

My time at Cardiff University's Water Research Institute began in 2021 when I started working on the Wales Environmental Wastewater Analysis & Surveillance for Health (WEWASH) project as a data analyst. In this position, I utilised data obtained from molecular methods to better understand the spread of pathogens in populations across Wales. Insights were then communicated to Welsh Government in weekly reports, helping to inform policy on public health.

Prior to my time at Cardiff University, I was a postdoctoral researcher at Bangor University, where my work focused on understanding the ecological relevance of eDNA in rivers and streams, analysing data from high throughput sequencing and placing the results in an ecological context. I also completed my PhD at Bangor University, which focused on assessing the impact of hybridisation between domesticated escapees from aquaculture and wild populations. Collaborating with the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, it involved utilising multiple molecular methods.

My research journey started at the University of Bristol, where I completed my MSci. I was involved in two projects, the first examined the population genetics of a radiation of cichlids, and the second examined the population genetics of a species of deep-sea shark.

Supervisions

I am interested in supervising students in the areas of:

  • Aquaculture
  • Domestication
  • Fish morphology
  • eDNA