![William Perry](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/1162?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr William Perry
(he/him)
Postdoctoral Research Associate
School of Biosciences
- 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
2025
- Webster, G., Dighe, S. N., Perry, W. B., Stenhouse, E. H., Jones, D. L., Kille, P. and Weightman, A. J. 2025. Wastewater sample storage for physicochemical and microbiological analysis. Journal of Virological Methods 332, article number: 115063. (10.1016/j.jviromet.2024.115063)
- Knight, M. E. et al. 2025. Wastewater-based analysis of antimicrobial resistance at UK airports: Evaluating the potential opportunities and challenges. Environment International 195, article number: 109260. (10.1016/j.envint.2025.109260)
- Silvester, R. et al. 2025. Metagenomics unveils the role of hospitals and wastewater treatment plants on the environmental burden of antibiotic resistance genes and opportunistic pathogens. Science of the Total Environment 961, article number: 178403. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178403)
2024
- Jones, G. et al. 2024. Evaluation of wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in a prison population: a mixed-methods approach. Frontiers in Public Health 12, article number: 1462186. (10.3389/fpubh.2024.1462186)
- Knight, M. E. et al. 2024. National-scale antimicrobial resistance surveillance in wastewater: A comparative analysis of HT qPCR and metagenomic approaches. Water Research 262, article number: 121989. (10.1016/j.watres.2024.121989)
- Cairnduff, R. et al. 2024. Adaptation in landlocked Atlantic salmon links genetics in wild and farmed salmon to smoltification. BMC Genomic Data 25(1), article number: 78. (10.1186/s12863-024-01263-5)
- Williams, R. C. et al. 2024. Examining the stability of viral RNA and DNA in wastewater: Effects of storage time, temperature, and freeze-thaw cycles. Water Research 259, article number: 121879. (10.1016/j.watres.2024.121879)
- Perry, W. B. et al. 2024. An integrated spatio-temporal view of riverine biodiversity using environmental DNA metabarcoding. Nature Communications 15(1), article number: 4372. (10.1038/s41467-024-48640-3)
- Perry, W. B. et al. 2024. Cross-continental comparative experiences of wastewater surveillance and a vision for the 21st century. Science of the Total Environment 919, article number: 170842. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170842)
- Perry, W. B., Ahmadian, R., Munday, M., Jones, O., Ormerod, S. J. and Durance, I. 2024. Addressing the challenges of combined sewer overflows. Environmental Pollution 343, article number: 123225. (10.1016/j.envpol.2023.123225)
- Perry, W. B. et al. 2024. Design considerations for eDNA metabarcoding surveys. In: Berry, O., Jarman, S. and Holleley, C. eds. Applied Environmental Genomics. Csiro Publishing, pp. 2 -13.
2023
- Perry, W. B. 2023. The environmental impact of keeping a tropical aquarium in Northern Europe. Journal of Fish Biology 103(3), pp. 695-703. (10.1111/jfb.15478)
2022
- Wilde, H. et al. 2022. Accounting for dilution of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples using physico-chemical markers. Water 14(18), article number: 2885. (10.3390/w14182885)
2021
- Perry, W. B. et al. 2021. Domestication-induced reduction in eye size revealed in multiple common garden experiments: The case of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Evolutionary Applications 14(9), pp. 2319-2332. (10.1111/eva.13297)
2020
- Perry, W. B. et al. 2020. Disentangling the effects of sex, life history and genetic background in Atlantic salmon: growth, heart and liver under common garden conditions. Royal Society Open Science 7(10), article number: 200811. (10.1098/rsos.200811)
- Perry, W. B., Lindsay, E., Payne, C. J., Brodie, C. and Kazlauskaite, R. 2020. The role of the gut microbiome in sustainable teleost aquaculture. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287(1926), article number: 20200184. (10.1098/rspb.2020.0184)
2019
- Perry, W. B. et al. 2019. Evolutionary drivers of kype size in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): domestication, age and genetics. Royal Society Open Science 6(4), article number: 190021. (10.1098/rsos.190021)
2016
- Gubili, C. et al. 2016. Connectivity in the deep: phylogeography of the velvet belly lanternshark. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 115, pp. 233-239. (10.1016/j.dsr.2016.07.002)
Articles
- Webster, G., Dighe, S. N., Perry, W. B., Stenhouse, E. H., Jones, D. L., Kille, P. and Weightman, A. J. 2025. Wastewater sample storage for physicochemical and microbiological analysis. Journal of Virological Methods 332, article number: 115063. (10.1016/j.jviromet.2024.115063)
- Knight, M. E. et al. 2025. Wastewater-based analysis of antimicrobial resistance at UK airports: Evaluating the potential opportunities and challenges. Environment International 195, article number: 109260. (10.1016/j.envint.2025.109260)
- Silvester, R. et al. 2025. Metagenomics unveils the role of hospitals and wastewater treatment plants on the environmental burden of antibiotic resistance genes and opportunistic pathogens. Science of the Total Environment 961, article number: 178403. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178403)
- Jones, G. et al. 2024. Evaluation of wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in a prison population: a mixed-methods approach. Frontiers in Public Health 12, article number: 1462186. (10.3389/fpubh.2024.1462186)
- Knight, M. E. et al. 2024. National-scale antimicrobial resistance surveillance in wastewater: A comparative analysis of HT qPCR and metagenomic approaches. Water Research 262, article number: 121989. (10.1016/j.watres.2024.121989)
- Cairnduff, R. et al. 2024. Adaptation in landlocked Atlantic salmon links genetics in wild and farmed salmon to smoltification. BMC Genomic Data 25(1), article number: 78. (10.1186/s12863-024-01263-5)
- Williams, R. C. et al. 2024. Examining the stability of viral RNA and DNA in wastewater: Effects of storage time, temperature, and freeze-thaw cycles. Water Research 259, article number: 121879. (10.1016/j.watres.2024.121879)
- Perry, W. B. et al. 2024. An integrated spatio-temporal view of riverine biodiversity using environmental DNA metabarcoding. Nature Communications 15(1), article number: 4372. (10.1038/s41467-024-48640-3)
- Perry, W. B. et al. 2024. Cross-continental comparative experiences of wastewater surveillance and a vision for the 21st century. Science of the Total Environment 919, article number: 170842. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170842)
- Perry, W. B., Ahmadian, R., Munday, M., Jones, O., Ormerod, S. J. and Durance, I. 2024. Addressing the challenges of combined sewer overflows. Environmental Pollution 343, article number: 123225. (10.1016/j.envpol.2023.123225)
- Perry, W. B. 2023. The environmental impact of keeping a tropical aquarium in Northern Europe. Journal of Fish Biology 103(3), pp. 695-703. (10.1111/jfb.15478)
- Wilde, H. et al. 2022. Accounting for dilution of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples using physico-chemical markers. Water 14(18), article number: 2885. (10.3390/w14182885)
- Perry, W. B. et al. 2021. Domestication-induced reduction in eye size revealed in multiple common garden experiments: The case of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Evolutionary Applications 14(9), pp. 2319-2332. (10.1111/eva.13297)
- Perry, W. B. et al. 2020. Disentangling the effects of sex, life history and genetic background in Atlantic salmon: growth, heart and liver under common garden conditions. Royal Society Open Science 7(10), article number: 200811. (10.1098/rsos.200811)
- Perry, W. B., Lindsay, E., Payne, C. J., Brodie, C. and Kazlauskaite, R. 2020. The role of the gut microbiome in sustainable teleost aquaculture. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287(1926), article number: 20200184. (10.1098/rspb.2020.0184)
- Perry, W. B. et al. 2019. Evolutionary drivers of kype size in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): domestication, age and genetics. Royal Society Open Science 6(4), article number: 190021. (10.1098/rsos.190021)
- Gubili, C. et al. 2016. Connectivity in the deep: phylogeography of the velvet belly lanternshark. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 115, pp. 233-239. (10.1016/j.dsr.2016.07.002)
Book sections
- Perry, W. B. et al. 2024. Design considerations for eDNA metabarcoding surveys. In: Berry, O., Jarman, S. and Holleley, C. eds. Applied Environmental Genomics. Csiro Publishing, pp. 2 -13.
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
Contact Details
Sir Martin Evans Building, Room Water Research Institute, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX
