![William Perry](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/1162?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr William Perry
Research Associate
School of Biosciences
- PerryW1@cardiff.ac.uk
- Sir Martin Evans Building, Room Water Research Institute, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
The power of molecular methods in ecology has always fascinated me and has been the primary driver of my research. Insights gained at the population and community level have been of particular interest.
Currently, I am working as a data analyst on the WEWASH project, applying molecular methods to better understand the ecology of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, and its relevance for wastewater epidemiology. The WEWASH project, and more broadly the COVID-19 pandemic, has demonstrated the societal value of molecular ecology in the 21st century.
Previously, I applied molecular methods to topics relevant to a far more fundamental threat to human survival: the ecological crisis. These topics included population connectivity, impacts of the aquaculture industry and biomonitoring using eDNA.
Although I have worked with many biological systems, including viruses, bacteria, and plants, much of my research has focused on fish. This led to my appointment as Associate and Commentary Editor for the Journal of Fish Biology, as well as Publicity Coordinator for the Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI).
Publication
2023
- Perry, W. B. 2023. The environmental impact of keeping a tropical aquarium in Northern Europe. Journal of Fish Biology (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
- Perry, W. B. 2023. The environmental impact of keeping a tropical aquarium in Northern Europe. Journal of Fish Biology (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)
Biography
I am currently based at the Water Research Institute in the School of Biosciences working as a postdoctoral researcher in the data analysis team on the WEWASH project. Here, I am involved in the monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater around Wales.
Before this, I had completed a postdoctoral position at Bangor University on the LOFRESH project, with a secondment at the Water Research Institute. The LOFRESH project focused on understanding the ecological relevance of eDNA in rapidly moving fresh water. Primarily, I analysed data obtained from high throughput sequencing technologies and placed the results in an ecological context.
Prior to my postdoctoral research, I completed my PhD at Bangor University, which focused on the impact domesticated escapees from aquaculture are having on wild populations. Collaborating with the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, I applied a multitude of techniques, examining the effect of wild x domesticated hybridisation on everything from morphology to gut microbial communities.
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