Professor Simon Creer

Professor of Molecular Ecology

Contact info

I am interested in using contemporary molecular tools to address diverse questions focusing on biodiversity, ecology and evolution. This is a particularly exciting time in the field of molecular ecology, since advances in DNA sequencing throughput have recently offered a paradigm shift in our ability to assess previously intractable functional and taxonomic biodiversity at an unprecedented scale, augmenting existing biodiversity fields and empowering others. Using such technologies, I am testing a range of hypotheses regarding the alpha and beta functional and taxonomic diversity of macro-, meio- and microbial communities (e.g. microbiomes) in space and time, based on genomic, community and environmental DNA (eDNA). Focal habitats have included estuarine, coastal and deep sea environments with an increasing focus now on freshwater, terrestrial, whole organisms and the aerial biosphere in order to understand the drivers of diversity in natural communities and also how diversity is linked with ecological function, trophic relationships, environmental and human health. Current additional activities include phylogenomics, population genetics, life history evolution, polyploidy, pollination genomics.

Any funded Fellowship, postgraduate or postdoctoral positions will be advertised on the group website/social media feeds, but we also welcome enquiries from candidates seeking their own funding mechanisms, to develop future research collaborations.


Email: s.creer@bangor.ac.uk

Phone: +44(0)1248 382302

Address: School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK

URL: http://mefgl.bangor.ac.uk/staff/si.php

Twitter: @SiCreerProf

  1. Published

    Environmental DNA reveals ecologically relevant spatial and temporal variation in fish assemblages between estuaries and seasons

    Gibson, T., Baillie, C., Collins, R. A., Wangensteen, O. S., Corrigan, L., Ellison, A., Heddell-Cowie, M., Westoby, H., Byatt, B., Lawson-Handley, L., Soto, A. Z., Creer, S., Genner, M. J. & Mariani, S., 1 Aug 2024, In: Ecological Indicators. 165, 112215.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  2. Published

    Environmental DNA metabarcoding for fish diversity assessment in a macrotidal estuary: A comparison with established fish survey methods

    Gibson, T., Carvalho, G., Ellison, A., Gargiulo, E., Hatton-Ellis, T., Handley, L. L., Mariani, S., Collins, R. A., Sellers, G., Distaso, M., Zampieri, C. & Creer, S., 1 Nov 2023, In: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 294, 108522.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  3. Published

    DNA Metabarcoding Methods for the Study of Marine Benthic Meiofauna

    Gielings, R., Fais, M., Fontaneto, D., Creer, S., Costa, F. O., Renema, W. & Macher, J.-N., 30 Sept 2021, In: Frontiers in Marine Science.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  4. Published

    Tideless estuaries in brackish seas as possible freshwater-marine transition zones for bacteria: the case study of the Vistula river estuary

    Golebiewski, M., Calkiewicz, J., Creer, S. & Piwosz, K., Apr 2017, In: Environmental Microbiology Reports. 9, 2, p. 129-143

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  5. Published

    A continuous feast of bramble: Rubus fruticosus agg. is a key cross-seasonal dietary resource for a fallow deer population

    Gresham, A., Pillay, K., Healey, J., Eichhorn, M., Ellison, A., Lowe, A., Creer, S., Cordes, L. & Shannon, G., 10 Feb 2025, In: Ecological Solutions and Evidence. 6, 1

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  6. Published

    An evaluation of the systematic value of skull morphology in the Trimeresurus radiation (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae) of Asian pitvipers.

    Guo, P., Malhotra, A., Creer, S. & Pook, C. E., 1 Nov 2009, In: Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 47, 4, p. 378-384

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  7. Published

    New evidence on the phylogenetic position of the poorly known Asian pitviper Protobothrops kaulbacki (Serpentes : Viperidae : Crotalinae) with a redescription of the species and a revision of the genus Protobothrops.

    Guo, P., Malhotra, A., Li, P. P., Pook, C. E. & Creer, S., 1 Oct 2007, In: Herpetological Journal. 17, 4, p. 237-246

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  8. Published

    Systematics of the Protobothrops jerdonii complex (Serpentes, Viperidae, Crotalinae) inferred from morphometric data and molecular phylogeny.

    Guo, P., Malhotra, A., Li, C., Creer, S., Pook, P. E. & Wen, T., 1 Jul 2009, In: Herpetological Journal. 19, 2, p. 85-96

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  9. Published
  10. Published

    UK DNA working group eDNA week, January 2022

    Handley, L. L., Blackwell, T., Broadhurst, H. A., Clark, K., Davison, P. I., England, J., Mariani, S., McDevitt, A. D., Pillay, G. K., Read, D., Walsh, K., Nisbet, A. & Creer, S., 1 Jan 2023, In: Environmental DNA. 5, 1, p. 18-24 7 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  11. Published

    A common garden design reveals population-specific variability in potential impacts of hybridization between populations of farmed and wild Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.

    Harvey, A., Glover, K. A., Taylor, M., Creer, S. & Carvalho, G., 1 Mar 2016, In: Evolutionary Applications. 9, 3, p. 435-449

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  12. Published

    Plasticity in growth of farmed and wild Atlantic salmon: is the increased growth rate of farmed salmon caused by evolutionary adaptations to the commercial diet?

    Harvey, A., Solberg, M. F., Troianou, E., Carvalho, G., Taylor, M. I., Creer, S., Dyrhovden, L., Matre, I. H. & Glover, K. A., 1 Dec 2016, In: BMC Evolutionary Biology. 2016, 16, 264.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  13. Published

    Plasticity in response to feed availability: Does feeding regime influence the relative growth performance of domesticated, wild and hybrid Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr?

    Harvey, A., Solberg, M. F., Glover, K. A., Taylor, M. I., Creer, S. & Carvalho, G., 1 Sept 2016, In: Journal of Fish Biology. 89, 3, p. 1754-1768

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  14. Published

    Does density influence relative growth performance of farmed, wild, and F1 hybrid Atlantic salmon in semi-natural and hatchery common garden conditions?

    Harvey, A., Carvalho, G., Taylor, M., Solberg, M. F., Creer, S., Dyrhovden, L., Matre, I. H. & Glover, K. A., 6 Jul 2016, In: Royal Society Open Science. 3, 7, 160152.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  15. Published

    Accounting for extinction dynamics unifies the geological and biological histories of Indo-Australian Archipelago

    Herrera-Alsina, L., Lancaster, L. T., Algar, A. C., Bocedi, G., Papadopulos, A. S. T., Gubry-Rangin, C., Osborne, O. G., Mynard, P., Creer, S., Villegas-Patraca, R., Made Sudiana, I., Fahri, F., Lupiyaningdyah, P., Nangoy, M., Iskandar, D. T., Juliandi, B., Burslem, D. F. R. P. & Travis, J. M. J., 30 Sept 2024, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 291, 2031, p. 20240966

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  16. Published

    Ancient geological dynamics impact neutral biodiversity accumulation and are detectable in phylogenetic reconstructions

    Herrera‐Alsina, L., Algar, A. C., Bocedi, G., Gubry‐Rangin, C., Lancaster, L., Mynard, P., Osborne, O., Papadopulos, A. S. T., Creer, S., Nangoy, M., Fahri, F., Lupiyaningdyah, P., Sudiana, I. M., Juliandi, B. & Travis, J. M. J., Aug 2021, In: Global Ecology and Biogeography. 30, 8, p. 1633-1642 10 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  17. Published

    Detection of introduced and resident marine species using environmental DNA metabarcoding of sediment and water

    Holman, L. E., de Bruyn, M., Creer, S., Carvalho, G., Robidart, J. & Rius, M., 9 Aug 2019, In: Scientific Reports. 9, 11559.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  18. Published

    Managing human-mediated range shifts: understanding spatial, temporal and genetic variation in marine non-native species

    Holman, L. E., Parker-Nance, S., de Bruyn, M., Creer, S., Carvalho, G. & Rius, M., 14 Mar 2022, In: Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 377, 1846, 20210025.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  19. Published

    Animals, protists and bacteria share marine biogeographic patterns

    Holman, L. E., De Bruyn, M., Creer, S., Carvalho, G., Robidart, J. & Rius, M., 1 Jun 2021, In: Nature Ecology and Evolution. 5, 6, p. 738–746

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  20. Published

    Phylogenomics and species delimitation for effective conservation of manta and devil rays

    Hosegood, J., Humble, E., Ogden, R., De Bruyn, M., Creer, S., Stevens, G. M. W., Abudaya, M., Bassos-Hull, K., Bonfil, R., Fernando, D., Foote, A., Hipperson, H., Jabado, R. W., Kaden, J., Moazzam, M., Peel, L. R., Pollett, S., Ponzo, A., Poortvliet, M., Salah, J., Senn, H., Stewart, J. D., Wintner, S. & Carvalho, G., Dec 2020, In: Molecular Ecology. 29, 24, p. 4783-4796

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  21. Published

    Plastic and Heritable Components of Phenotypic Variation in Nucella lapillus: An Assessment Using Reciprocal Transplant and Common Garden Experiments

    Hughes, R. N., Pascoal, S., Carvalho, G. R., Creer, S., Rock, J., Kawaii, K., Mendo, S. & Hughes, R., 27 Jan 2012, In: PLoS ONE. 7, 1, p. e30289

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  22. Published

    Transcriptomics and in vivo tests reveal novel mechanisms underlying endocrine disruption in an ecological sentinel, Nucella lapillus

    Hughes, R. N., Pascoal, S., Carvalho, G. R., Vasieva, O., Hughes, R., Cossins, A., Fang, Y., Ashelford, K., Olohan, L., Barroso, C., Mendo, S. & Creer, S., 1 Mar 2013, In: Molecular Ecology. 22, 6, p. 1589-1608

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  23. E-pub ahead of print

    Comparative population genomics of manta rays has global implications for management

    Humble, E., Hosegood, J., Carvalho, G., De Bruyn, M., Creer, S., Stevens, G. M. W., Armstrong, A., Bonfil, R., Deakos, M., Fernando, D., Froman, N., Peel, L. R., Pollett, S., Ponzo, A., Stewart, J. D., Wintner, S. & Ogden, R., 23 Nov 2023, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Molecular Ecology.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  24. Published

    Shifts in honeybee foraging reveal historical changes in floral resources

    Jones, L., Brennan, G. L., Lowe, A., Creer, S., Ford, C. R. & de Vere, N., 14 Jan 2021, In: Communications Biology. 4, 1, 37.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  25. Published

    Temporal Patterns of Honeybee Foraging in a Diverse Floral Landscape Revealed Using Pollen DNA Metabarcoding of Honey

    Jones, L., Lowe, A., Ford, C. R., Creer, S. & de Vere, N., 1 Aug 2022, In: Integrative and Comparative Biology. 62, 2, p. 199-210

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  26. Published

    Mineralogy affects prokaryotic community composition in an acidic metal mine

    Kelly, L., Rivett, D. W., Pakostova, E., Creer, S., Cotterell, T. & Johnson, B., 1 Jan 2023, In: Microbiological Research. 266, 127257.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  27. Published

    Predicting the severity of the grass pollen season and the effect of climate change in Northwest Europe

    Kurganskiy, A., Creer, S., De Vere, N., Griffith, G. W., Osborne, N. J., Wheeler, B. W., McInnes, R. N., Clewlow, Y., Barber, A., Brennan, G., Hanlon, H. M., Hegarty, M. J., Potter, C., Rowney, F. M., Adams-Groom, B., Petch, G. M., Pashley, C. H., Satchwell, J., De Weger, L. A., Rasmussen, K., Oliver, G., Sindt, C., Bruffaerts, N., The PollerGEN Consortium & Skjoth, C. A., 26 Mar 2021, In: Science Advances. 7, 13, eabd7658.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  28. Published

    Environmental metabarcoding reveals heterogeneous drivers of microbial eukaryote diversity in contrasting estuarine ecosystems

    Lallias, D. S., Lallias, D., Hiddink, J. G., Fonseca, V. G., Gaspar, J. M., Sung, W., Neill, S. P., Barnes, N., Ferrero, T., Hall, N., Lambshead, P. J., Packer, M., Thomas, W. K. & Creer, S., 25 Nov 2014, In: The ISME Journal. 9, p. 1208-1221

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  29. Published

    How quantitative is metabarcoding: a meta-analytical approach

    Lamb, P. D., Hunter, E., Pinnegar, J. K., Creer, S., Taylor, M. I. & Davies, R. G., Jan 2019, In: Molecular Ecology. 28, 2, p. 420-430 11 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  30. Published

    Jellyfish on the menu: mtaDNA assay reveals scyphozoan predation in the Irish Sea

    Lamb, P. D., Hunter, E., Pinnegar, J. K., Creer, S., Davies, R. G. & Taylor, M. I., 29 Nov 2017, In: Royal Society Open Science.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  31. Published

    Inclusion of jellyfish in 30+ years of Ecopath with Ecosim models

    Lamb, P. D., Hunter, E., Pinnegar, J. K., Doyle, T. K., Creer, S. & Taylor, M. I., 1 Dec 2019, In: ICES Journal of Marine Science. 76, 7, p. 1941–1950

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  32. Published

    Cryptic diets of forage fish: jellyfish consumption observed in the Celtic Sea and western English Channel

    Lamb, P. D., Hunter, E., Pinnegar, J. K., van der Kooij, J., Creer, S. & Taylor, M. I., 26 Jun 2019, In: Journal of Fish Biology. 94, 6, p. 1026-1032 7 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  33. Published

    Parasitism perturbs the mucosal microbiome of Atlantic Salmon

    Llewellyn, M. S., Leadbeater, S., Garcia, C., Sylvain, F.-E., Custodio, M., Ang, K. P., Powell, F., Carvalho, G., Creer, S., Elliot, J. & Derome, N., 2017, In: Scientific Reports. 7, 43465.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  34. Published

    The biogeography of the atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) gut microbiome

    Llewellyn, M. S., McGinnity, P., Dionne, M., Letourneau, J., Thonier, F., Carvalho, G., Creer, S. & Derome, N., May 2016, In: ISME Journal. 10, p. 1280-1284

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  35. Published

    Using DNA Metabarcoding to Identify Floral Visitation by Pollinators

    Lowe, A., Jones, L., Witter, L., Creer, S. & de Vere, N., 24 Mar 2022, In: Diversity. 14, 4

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

  36. Published

    Temporal change in floral availability leads to periods of resource limitation and affects diet specificity in a generalist pollinator

    Lowe, A., Jones, L., Brennan, G., Creer, S., Christie, L. & de Vere, N., 24 Oct 2022, In: Molecular Ecology. 32, 23, p. 6363-6376 14 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  37. Published

    Seasonal progression and differences in major floral resource use by bees and hoverflies in a diverse horticultural and agricultural landscape revealed by DNA metabarcoding

    Lowe, A., Jones, L., Brennan, G., Creer, S. & de Vere, N., Jun 2022, In: Journal of Applied Ecology. 59, 6, p. 1484-1495

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  38. Published

    Key Questions for Next-Generation Biomonitoring

    Makiola, A., Compson, Z. G., Baird, D. J., Barnes, M. A., Boerlijst, S. P., Bouchez, A., Brennan, G., Bush, A., Canard, E., Cordier, T., Creer, S., Curry, R. A., David, P., Dumbrell, A. J., Gravel, D., Hajibabaei, M., Hayden, B., van der Hoorn, B., Jarne, P., Jones, J. I., Karimi, B., Keck, F., Kelly, M., Knot, I. E., Krol, L., Massol, F., Monk, W. A., Murphy, J., Pawlowski, J., Poisot, T., Porter, T. M., Randall, K. C., Ransome, E., Ravigne, V., Raybould, A., Robin, S., Scrama, M., Schatz, B., Tamaddoni-Nezhad, A., Trimbos, K. B., Vacher, C., Vasselon, V., Wood, S., Woodward, G. & Bohan, D. A., 9 Jan 2020, In: Frontiers in Environmental Science.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  39. Published

    Predicting function from sequence in a large multifunctional toxin family

    Malhotra, A., Creer, S., Harris, J. B., Stöcklin, R., Favereau, P. & Thorpe, R. S., 3 Jul 2013, In: Toxicon. 72, p. 113-125

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  40. Published

    Inclusion of nuclear intron sequence data helps to identify the Asian sister group of New World pitvipers.

    Malhotra, A., Creer, S., Pook, C. E. & Thorpe, R. S., 1 Jan 2010, In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 54, 1, p. 172-178

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  41. Published

    The importance of being genomic: Non-coding and coding sequences suggest different models of toxin multi-gene family evolution

    Malhotra, A., Creer, S., Harris, J. B. & Thorpe, R. S., 7 Sept 2015, In: Toxicon. 107, Part B, p. 344-358

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  42. Published

    Whole genome duplication and transposable element proliferation drive genome expansion in Corydoradinae catfishes

    Marburger, S., Alexandrou, M., Taggart, J. B., Creer, S., Carvalho, G., Oliveira, C. & Taylor, M. I., 14 Feb 2018, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 285, 1872, 20172732.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  43. Published

    SNP Discovery in European Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus, L) by High-Throughput Transcriptome and Genome Sequencing

    Montes, I., Conklin, D., Albania, A., Creer, S., Carvalho, G. R., Santos, M. & Estonba, A., 1 Aug 2013, In: PLoS ONE. 8, 8, p. e70051

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  44. Published

    A critique of Rossberg et al.: noise obscures the genetic signal of meiobiotal ecospecies in ecogenomic datasets

    Morgan, M. J., Bass, D., Bik, H., Birky, C. W., Blaxter, M., Crisp, M. D., Derycke, S., Fitch, D., Fonteaneto, D., Hardy, C. M., King, A. J., Kiontke, K. C., Moens, T., Pawlowski, J. W., Porazinska, D., Tang, C. Q., Thomas, W. K., Yeates, D. K. & Creer, S., 26 Mar 2014, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 281, 1783, p. 20133076

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  45. Published

    Environmental DNA size sorting and degradation experiment indicates the state of Daphnia magna mitochondrial and nuclear eDNA is subcellular

    Moushomi, R., Wilgar, G., Carvalho, G., Creer, S. & Seymour, M., 29 Aug 2019, In: Scientific Reports. 9, 12500 (2019.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  46. Published

    Convergence of multiple markers and analysis methods defines the genetic distinctiveness of cryptic pitvipers

    Mrinalini, M., Thorpe, R. S., Creer, S., Lallias, D. S., Dawnay, L., Stuart, B. L. & Malhotra, A., 8 Jul 2015, In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 92, p. 266-279

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  47. Published

    Sample size effects on the assessment of eukaryotic diversity and community structure in aquatic sediments using high-throughput sequencing

    Nascimento, F. J. A., Lallias, D., Bik, H. M. & Creer, S., 6 Aug 2018, In: Scientific Reports. 8

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  48. Published

    Above-below surface interactions mediate effects of seagrass disturbance on meiobenthic diversity, nematode and polychaete trophic structure

    Nascimento, F. J. A., Dahl, M., Deyanova, D., Lyimo, L. D., Bik, H. M., Pereira, T. J., Bjork, M., Creer, S. & Gullstrom, M., 4 Oct 2019, In: Communications Biology. 2, 362.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  49. Published

    Fauxcurrence: simulating multi-species occurrences for null models in species distribution modelling and biogeography

    Osborne, O., Fell, H. G., Atkins, H., Tol, J. V., Phillips, D., Herrerra-Alsina, L., Mynard, P., Bocedi, G., Gubry-Rangin, C., Lancaster, L. T., Creer, S., Nangoy, M., Fahri, F., Lupiyaningdyah, P., Sudiana, I. M., Juliandi, B., Travis, J., Papadopulos, A. S. T. & Algar, A. C., Jul 2022, In: Ecography. 2022, 7, e05880.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  50. Published

    Development and Application of Microsatellites in Carcinus maenas: Genetic Differentiation between Northern and Central Portuguese Populations

    Pascoal, S., Creer, S., Taylor, M. I., Queiroga, H., Carvalho, G. & Mendo, S., 30 Sept 2009, In: PLoS ONE. 4, 9, p. e7268

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review