James E. Perry, III

Education

• B.S., Murray State University
• Ph.D., College of William & Mary

Research Interests

Dr. Perry is a Professor of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). His primary research interests involve monitoring stress and documenting long-term changes in vascular plant communities of tidal and non-tidal wetlands, and the relationship of those changes to changes in environmental parameters within watersheds. His current projects include: 1) establishing methods for determining status of watersheds and the success of created and restored habitats; 2) vegetation community dynamics in a restored and created wetlands and watersheds, and 3) life history, distribution and abundance, and threats to rare and/or endangered vascular plants.

He has done research in Asia, North America, and South America, and has presented many invited seminars and lectures abroad. He is currently involved in several international wetland projects in China designed to examine the role of environmental conservation/restoration and sustainable development in coastal wetlands. The goals of the projects are to provide research directions and education opportunities for local universities as well as providing recommendations and guidelines for the establishment of environmental policies for the local and federal agencies. He teaches courses in Asian Environmental Issues, Wetlands Ecology, and Coastal Botany.

Dr. Perry is a lifetime member of the Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS). He is currently the Secretary General for The Society of Wetland Scientist Professional Certification Program (SWSPCP), which he helped to develop in the early 1990's, and was one of the first wetlands ecologist to received his Professional Wetland Scientist certification. In the past he has chaired the SWSPCP Ethics Committee, the SWS South Atlantic Chapter, and has been a long time member of the SWS Outreach and Education Committee.

Past Students

• Hauser, Christian (2010) Thesis title: Net Microbial Activity and Vegetative Function in Natural and Created Non-
  Tidal, Forested Freshwater Wetlands.
• Bevington, Azure M.S. (2007) Thesis title: Environmental Factors and Typha spp. Dominance in Created Wetlands.
• Bailey, David E. MS (2006) Thesis title: Wetland Vegetation Dynamics and Ecosystem Gas Exchange in Response to Organic Matter Loading Rates.
• DeBerry, Douglas A. Ph.D. (2006) Dissertation title: Floristic Quality Index: Ecological And Management Implications In Created And Natural Wetlands.
• Davies, Sarah M.S. (2004) Thesis title: Temporal Changes in Vegetation Patterns at Sweet Hall Marsh, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Virginia.
• Landry, Cynthia M.S.  (2004) Thesis title: Assessing the Impacts of Off-road Vehicle Use on Populations of Ghost Crabs (Ocypode quadrata) at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina.
• Roggero, Molly M.S.  (2003) Thesis title: Ecosystem gas exchange in natural and created tidal salt marshes of Tidewater, Virginia.
• Wu-Stanhope, Jennifer M.S. (2003)Thesis title: Relationships between watershed characteristics and base flow nutrient discharges to eastern shore coastal lagoons, Virginia.
• Mountz, Elizabeth, M.S. (2002). Thesis title: Use of remote sensing to identify essential habitat for Aeschynomene virginica (L.) BSP, a threatened freshwater wetland plant.
• Slocum, Kevin, Ph.D. (2002). Thesis title: Coastal zone landscape classification using remote sensing and model development.
• Laird, Rosemary, M.S. (2001). Thesis title: Spatial and temporal variation in plant communities of three tidal salt marshes along the York River, Virginia.
• Goldberg Jason, M.S. (2000). Thesis title: Comparing remote sensing to traditional approaches of monitoring wetland vegetation in a tidal mitigation bank.
• Meyer Jill E., M.S. (2000). Thesis title: Accuracy of bottomland hardwood boundary delineations based on multispectral video images.
• Campana, Michael, M.S. (1999). Thesis title: The effect of common reed ( Phragmites australis ) invasion on nutrient flux, sedimentation, and plant species diversity in a tidal freshwater marsh.
• Spencer, David, M.S. (1999). Thesis title: Early secondary succession in the bottomland hardwood forests of southeastern Virginia.
• McKenney-Mueller, Amanda, M.S. (1998). Thesis title: Small mammal habitat use of two natural and two created wetlands in southeastern Virginia.

Courses Taught

• MS 580/Enst 440-02 Asian Environmental Issues
• MS 527 Coastal Botany
• MS 579 Wetlands Ecology (w/ R. Chambers)

Faculty and Student Awards

• NOAA/NERRS Graduate Research Fellowship (Davies, 2003-2005)
• Knauss Fellowship (Mountz, 2001; Goldberg and Meyer, 2000)
• Virginia Space Grant Scholarship (Mountz, 2000)
• Society of Wetland Scientist Scholarship (Meyer, 1999)

Professional Memberships

• American Institute of Biological Sciences
• Appalachian Botanical Society
• Ecological Society of America
• Estuarine Research Association
• Society of Wetland Scientists

Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Efforts

• Establishment of a wetland research program in the Palaeocoastal Reserve, Tianjin, China (w/NOAA, Tianjin Univ.).
• Ecological processes in restored habitat for the Chinese alligator, Chongming Island, China (Wildlife Conservation Service).