Kym Perry

Dr Kym Perry

Research Fellow

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine

College of Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.


Dr Kym Perry is a senior researcher in entomology in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine. His expertise is in the ecology and management of insects and molluscs (snails and slugs) in agricultural ecosystems.

I am interested in understanding how environmental factors influence population processes in pest and beneficial invertebrates, with a special interest in dispersal and species distributions.

I lead multi-disciplinary research projects, funded primarily by GRDC and SAGIT, to develop enhanced pest management strategies for key pests of Australian grains crops. My current research focuses on more effective control of exotic Mediterranean snails in grains crops, and insecticide resistance management in the diamondback moth. 

My research seeks to pursue and exploit fundamental knowledge of species biology, and emerging technologies, to devise practical solutions for pest monitoring and management that can operate at scale on modern farms, to support growers to better target their pest management. I have a special interest in R and data science, and in developing end-user tools that can be used by cropping industries to forecast the seasonal risk and phenology of key pests. 

I collaborate widely with SARDI, CSIRO, other universities, government departments, and private companies. I welcome the opportunity to mentor and supervise students.

Date Position Institution name
2004 - 2024 Senior Researcher South Australian Research and Development Institute

Year Citation
2024 Liu, H., Perry, K. D., Lu, T. F., Wu, T., & Buhl, C. (2024). Machine vision solutions for monitoring pest snails in australian no-till cropping fields: An exploration of spectral characteristics and detectability. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 16, 12 pages.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2
2021 Ward, C. M., Perry, K. D., Baker, G., Powis, K., Heckel, D. G., & Baxter, S. W. (2021). A haploid diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella L.) genome assembly resolves 31 chromosomes and identifies a diamide resistance mutation. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 138, 103622-1-103622-13.
DOI Scopus24 WoS23 Europe PMC24
2021 Muirhead, K. A., & Perry, K. D. (2021). Biocontrol of invasive conical snails by the parasitoid fly sarcophaga villeneuveana in south australia 20 years after release. Insects, 12(10), 865-1-865-11.
DOI Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC2
2020 Perry, K., Keller, M. A., & Baxter, S. (2020). Genome-wide analysis of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L., from Brassica crops and wild host plants reveals no genetic structure in Australia. Scientific Reports, 10(12047), 1-15.
DOI Scopus10 WoS13 Europe PMC3
2018 Perry, K., Baker, G., Powis, K., Kent, J., Ward, C., & Baxter, S. (2018). Cryptic Plutella species show deep divergence despite the capacity to hybridize. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 18(1), 77.
DOI Scopus17 WoS16 Europe PMC8
2018 Yazdani, M., Baker, G., DeGraaf, H., Henry, K., Hill, K., Kimber, B., . . . Nash, M. A. (2018). First detection of Russian wheat aphid Diuraphis noxia Kurdjumov (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in Australia: a major threat to cereal production. Austral Entomology, 57(4), 410-417.
DOI Scopus40 WoS37
2014 Macfadyen, S., Hardie, D. C., Fagan, L., Stefanova, K., Perry, K. D., DeGraaf, H. E., . . . Umina, P. A. (2014). Reducing insecticide use in broad-acre grains production: An Australian study. Plos One, 9(2), e89119.
DOI Scopus41 Europe PMC19
2004 Kasper, M., Reeson, A., Cooper, S., Perry, K., & Austin, A. (2004). Assessment of prey overlap between a native (Polistes humilis) and an introduced (Vespula germanica) social wasp using morphology and phylogenetic analyses of 16S rDNA. Molecular Ecology, 13(7), 2037-2048.
DOI Scopus71 WoS62 Europe PMC40

Year Citation
2017 Perry, K. D., Pederson, S. M., & Baxter, S. W. (2017). Genome-wide SNP discovery in field and laboratory colonies of Australian<i>Plutella</i>species.
DOI Europe PMC1

Year Citation
- Perry, K., & Keller, M. (n.d.). Diamondback moth colonisation of canola crops in South Australia and CLIMEX Weekly Growth Index.mp4.
DOI
- Perry, K., & Keller, M. (n.d.). Climate suitability for the diamondback moth in Australia from 2014 to 2016, predicted using a CLIMEX model.
DOI
- Perry, K., & Keller, M. (n.d.). Climate suitability for the diamondback moth on the Eyre Peninsula,South Australia, from 2014 to 2016, predicted using a CLIMEX model.
DOI
Source Project Investigators  (*Lead) Role Period Funding
GRDC Calcium requirements of pest snails and the impact of liming Perry KD*, Xu W*, Muirhead KA, Logan D, Hughes B, Harding A Chief Investigator 2024-2028 $2.62M
GRDC More effective control of pest snails in Australian grain crops (UOA2205-005RTX) Perry KD*, Muirhead KA, Caron V, Lu TF, Zhao S, Zou J, Micic S, Kumawat L, Saunders C  Chief Investigator 2022-2026 $5.5M
SAGIT, GRDC, Viterra Revegetation for enhanced biocontrol of pest conical snails (UAD-02522-R) Perry KD*, Muirhead KA Chief Investigator 2022-2025 $502,731
GRDC Optimizing slug management: Enhancing capacity and capability through population modelling and innovative management strategies (UOA2308-004RTX) Muirhead KA*, Perry KD, Logan D, Heddle T, Nash MA Scientist 2023-2027 $4.3M
CropLife Australia Insecticide resistance of diamondback moth in Australian Brassica vegetable crops Perry KD*, Powis KJ Chief Investigator 2023-2025 $195,362
GRDC Quantifying the diversity of pest and beneficial invertebrates in harvest weed-seed controlled systems in southern Australia (UOA2112-001RTX) Muirhead KA*, Perry KD, Fechner N Scientist 2021-2024 $800,527

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2024 Principal Supervisor Molecular phylogenetics, ecology, and management of Mediterranean pest snails in Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Nicole Kristyn Fechner
2024 Principal Supervisor Molecular phylogenetics, ecology, and management of Mediterranean pest snails in Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Nicole Kristyn Fechner

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