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Matthew C. Perry, Ph.D.

Matt Perry is an Emeritus at the Eastern Ecological Science Center located at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel, MD

Professional Experience

  • Involved with several writing projects of past research of waterfowl movements using satellite telemetry, waterfowl food habits, and management of wetlands for optimum wildlife use

  • Completed forty years of employment at Patuxent in October 2011 and retired in December 2011

Education and Certifications

  • B.S., University of Rhode Island 1963  

  • M.S., Virginia Polytechnic Institute 1970

  • Ph.D., University of Maryland 1985

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • Chair of the November 2005 Second North American Sea Duck Conference

  • Past President of the Washington Biologists' Field Club

  • Co-Chair of the Satellite Telemetry Workshop held in Puetro Iguazu, Argentina June 2011.

  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Retirees Association Board Member

  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Heritage Committee Member

  • Friends of Patuxent Board Member,  non-profit, Friends of Patuxent Laurel, MD Laurel, MD Board of Directors

  • Rivers of the World Foundation Board Member 

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 118

Aquatic Ecology: Scale, Pattern and Process

No abstract available.
By
Ecosystems, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Strong evidence for two disjunct populations of Black Scoters Melanitta americana in North America

Black Scoters Melanitta americana were marked with satellite transmitters on Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America to examine continental-scale population delineation. Scoters marked on the different coasts did not overlap at any stage of the annual cycle, suggesting that birds in the two regions could be monitored and managed as separate populations: 1) an Atlantic population, which winter
By
Ecosystems, Alaska Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Annual-cycle movements and phenology of black scoters in eastern North America

Sea ducks exhibit complex movement patterns throughout their annual cycle; most species use distinct molting and staging sites during migration and disjunct breeding and wintering sites. Although research on black scoters (Melanitta americana) has investigated movements and habitat selection during winter, little is known about their annual-cycle movements. We used satellite telemetry to identify

Assessing year‐round habitat use by migratory sea ducks in a multi‐species context reveals seasonal variation in habitat selection and partitioning

Long‐distance migration presents complex conservation challenges, and migratory species often experience shortfalls in conservation due to the difficulty of identifying important locations and resources throughout the annual cycle. In order to prioritize habitats for conservation of migratory wildlife, it is necessary to understand how habitat needs change throughout the annual cycle, as well as t
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Implanted satellite transmitters affect sea duck movement patterns at short- and long-term time scales

Studies of the effects of transmitters on wildlife often focus on survival. However, non-lethal behavioral changes resulting from radiomarking have the potential to affect inferences from telemetry data and may vary based on individual and environmental characteristics. We used a long-term, multi-species tracking study of sea ducks to assess behavioral patterns at multiple temporal scales followin
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Spatially explicit network analysis reveals multi-species annual cycle movement patterns of sea ducks

Conservation of long-distance migratory species poses unique challenges. Migratory connectivity—that is, the extent to which groupings of individuals at breeding sites are maintained in wintering areas—is frequently used to evaluate population structure and assess use of key habitat areas. However, for species with complex or variable annual-cycle movements, this traditional bimodal framework of m
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

The migratory bird treaty and a century of waterfowl conservation

In the final decades of the nineteenth century, concern was building about the status of migratory bird populations in North America. In this literature review, we describe how that concern led to a landmark conservation agreement in 1916, between the United States and Great Britain (on behalf of Canada) to conserve migratory birds shared by Canada and the United States. Drawing on published liter
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Atypical feeding behavior of Long-tailed Ducks in the wake of a commercial fishing boat while clamming

A foraging group of Clangula hyemalis (Long-tailed Duck) was observed on 10 February 2010 diving behind a commercial boat that was clamming near Monomoy Island, Nantucket Sound, MA. We used a shotgun to collect 9 of the ducks, and our analyses of gizzard and gullet (esophagus and proventriculus) revealed 37 food items in the gizzard and 16 in the gullet. Mollusca were the dominant food in the gizz
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Book review: Feeding wild birds In America – Culture, commerce, and conservation

No abstract available.
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

The history of Patuxent: America’s wildlife research story

This report, based on a symposium held on October 13, 2011, at the National Wildlife Visitor Center at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel, MD, documents the history of the Patuxent Research Refuge and the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, collectively known as Patuxent. The symposium was one of the many activities occurring at that time to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the creation of the
By
Ecosystems, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Composition, shell strength, and metabolizable energy of Mulinia lateralis and Ischadium recurvum as food for wintering surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata)

Decline in surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) waterfowl populations wintering in the Chesapeake Bay has been associated with changes in the availability of benthic bivalves. The Bay has become more eutrophic, causing changes in the benthos available to surf scoters. The subsequent decline in oyster beds (Crassostrea virginica) has reduced the hard substrate needed by the hooked mussel (Ischadiu
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Coastal wetlands of Chesapeake Bay

Wetlands are prominent landscapes throughout North America. The general characteristics of wetlands are controversial, thus there has not been a systematic assessment of different types of wetlands in different parts of North America, or a compendium of the threats to their conservation. Wetland Habitats of North America adopts a geographic and habitat approach, in which experts familiar with wetl
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities
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Aerial photo of PWRC

Patuxent History

Since its establishment in 1936 as the nation's first wildlife experiment station, the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has been a leading international research institute for wildlife and applied environmental research, for transmitting research findings to those responsible for managing our nation's natural resources, and for providing technical assistance in implementing research findings so as to improve natural resource management. Patuxent's scientists have been responsible for many important advances in natural resource conservation, especially in such areas as migratory birds, wildlife population analysis, waterfowl harvest, habitat management, wetlands, coastal zone and flood plain management, contaminants, endangered species, urban wildlife, ecosystem management, and management of national parks and national wildlife refuges.

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Patuxent History

Since its establishment in 1936 as the nation's first wildlife experiment station, the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has been a leading international research institute for wildlife and applied environmental research, for transmitting research findings to those responsible for managing our nation's natural resources, and for providing technical assistance in implementing research findings so as to improve natural resource management. Patuxent's scientists have been responsible for many important advances in natural resource conservation, especially in such areas as migratory birds, wildlife population analysis, waterfowl harvest, habitat management, wetlands, coastal zone and flood plain management, contaminants, endangered species, urban wildlife, ecosystem management, and management of national parks and national wildlife refuges.

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Atypical Feeding Behavior of Long-tailed Ducks in the Wake of a Commercial Fishing Boat while Clamming

Data represents analyses of gizzard and gullet (esophagus and proventriculus) of nine ducks using traditional techniques
By
Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Science and Products

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government