Dr. Gad Perry

Research Interests

My research centers on ecology in the broadest sense, with a large emphasis on conservation issues and the increasingly profound impacts of humans on the environment, especially in urban ecosystems in the U.S. and abroad. The ethics of such research is also an interest. Much of my work is carried out on reptiles and amphibians, and invasive species are a common focus. My research is primarily conducted in the field and typically focuses on the whole organism and its interactions with its biotic (including human) and a-biotic environment. Whenever possible, I use multiple methods, and this integrative approach has led to continuously-evolving research spanning varied sub-disciplines.

Service

I serve as an Editorial Board member for Urban Ecosystems, a frequent reviewer for multiple journals, a member of the Invasive Species and Iguana Specialist Groups of the IUCN and an elected officer of the Texas Tech chapter of the American Association of University Professors.  During 2019-2020, I was a Jefferson Science Fellow at the U.S. Department of State, via the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. 

Courses Taught

1. NRM 3307 Principles of Conservation Science
2. NRM 4324  Tropical Biology and Conservation (Summers only)
3. NRM 5340  Urban Ecology And Human Dimensions

Recent Publications

Göttert, T., and Perry, G. 2023. Going Wild in the City—Animal Feralization and Its Impacts on Biodiversity in Urban Environments. Animals 13(4):747.

Griffis-Kyle, K., A. V., Levering, K., Perez, C., Barun, A., and Perry, G. 2023. Reproductive niche differentiation in syntopic tree frogs (Agalychnis). Biotropica 55:19-23.

Zhang, Y., Tariq, A., Hughes, A.C., Hong, D., Wei, F., Sun, H., Sardans, J., Peñuelas, J., Perry, G., Qiao, J. and Kurban, A., 2022. Challenges and solutions to biodiversity conservation in arid lands. Science of The Total Environment, p.159695.

Perry, G., Gebresenbet, F., DaPra, M., Branco, P., Whibesilassie, W., Jelacic, M., and Eyob, A.E. 2022. Why Urban Ecology Matters in Ethiopia. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 10:843698.

Coman, I.A., Cooper‐Norris, C.E., Longing, S., and Perry, G. 2022. It Is a Wild World in the City: Urban Wildlife Conservation and Communication in the Age of COVID‐19. Diversity 2022, 14, 539.

McLaughlin, J., Perry, G., Manuel, K. Soluri, K., and Hebbeler, A. 2021. The U.S. Embassy Science Fellows Program: Implementation and Impacts. Science & Diplomacy Vol. 10, No. 3 (Fall 2021).

Gao, D., Perry, G. 2016. Species–area relationships and additive partitioning of diversity of native and nonnative herpetofauna of the West Indies. Ecology and Evolution, 2016, 1-21.

Reza, A.H.M., and Perry, G. 2015. Herpetofaunal species richness in the tropical forests of Bangladesh. Asian Journal of Conservation Biology 4:100-108.

Curzer, H.J., P. Muhlberger, G. Perry, D. Perry, and M. Wallace. 2013. The Ethics of Wildlife Research: A Nine R Theory. ILAR Journal 54:52-57.

Powell, R., R.W. Henderson, M.C. Farmer, M. Breuil, A.C. Echternacht, G. van Buurt, C.M. Romagosa, and G. Perry. 2011. Introduced amphibians and reptiles in the greater Caribbean: Patterns and conservation implications. Pp. 63-143 In: Conservation of Caribbean Island Herpetofaunas Volume 1. Edited by Adrian Hailey, Byron S. Wilson, and Julia A. Horrocks.

Sosa, A., O. Reyes, and G. Perry. 2010. Turtles in the Dust: Effects of Hands-on Scientific Training on a Group of Behaviorally At-risk Students' Knowledge and Empathy. Reptiles & Amphibians 17:108-111.

Perry, G. and D. Vice. 2009. Forecasting the risk of brown tree snake dispersal from Guam: a mixed transport-establishment model. Conservation Biology 23:992-1000.