Professor Simon Creer
Professor of Molecular Ecology

Affiliations
Links
- http://mefgl.bangor.ac.uk/staff/si.php
Personal website
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
- 2001
- Published
Multiple causation of phylogeographical pattern as revealed by nested clade analysis of the bamboo viper (Trimeresurus stejnegeri) within Taiwan.
Creer, S., Malhotra, A., Thorpe, R. S. & Chou, W. H., 1 Aug 2001, In: Molecular Ecology. 10, 8, p. 1967-1981Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2002
- Published
Offshore insular variation in the diet of the Taiwanese bamboo viper Trimeresurus stejnegeri (Schmidt)
Creer, S., Chou, W. H., Malhotra, A. & Thorpe, R. S., 1 Aug 2002, In: Zoological Science. 19, 8, p. 907-913Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2003
- Published
Genetic and ecological correlates of intraspecific variation in pitviper venom composition detected using matirx-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and isoelectric focusing
Creer, S., Malhotra, A., Thorpe, R., Stocklin, R. S., Favreau, P. S. & Chou, W. S., 1 Mar 2003, In: Journal of Molecular Evolution. 56, 3, p. 317-329Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Assessing the phylogenetic utility of four mitochondrial genes and a nuclear intron in the Asian pit viper genus, Trimeresurus: Separate, simultaneous, and conditional data combination analyses
Creer, S., Malhotra, A. & Thorpe, R. S., 1 Aug 2003, In: Molecular Biology and Evolution. 20, 8, p. 1240-1251Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2004
- Published
The utility of AFLPs for supporting mitochondrial DNA phylogeographical analyses in the Taiwanese bamboo viper, Trimeresurus stejnegeri
Creer, S., Thorpe, R., Malhotra, A., Chou, W. H. & Stenson, A. G., 1 Jan 2004, In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 17, 1, p. 100-107Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2005
- Published
Targeting optimal introns for phylogenetic analyses in non-model taxa: experimental results in Asian pitvipers.
Creer, S., Malhotra, A., Thorpe, R. S. & Pook, C. E., 1 Aug 2005, In: Cladistics. 21, 4, p. 390-395Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
On the application of molecular barcodes in toxinological research
Creer, S., 1 Nov 2005, In: Toxicon. 46, 6, p. 709-710Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2006
- Published
Optimal intron analyses in the Trimeresurus radiation of Asian pitvipers.
Creer, S., Pook, C. E., Malhotra, A. & Thorpe, R. S., 1 Feb 2006, In: Systematic Biology. 55, 1, p. 57-72Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2007
- Published
Choosing and using introns in molecular phylogenetics.
Creer, S., 1 Jan 2007, In: Evolutionary Bioinformatics. 3, p. 99-108Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 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. 237-246Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2009
- Published
Comments on the systematic status of specimens belonging to the genus Viridovipera (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae) from Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of southwestern China, with a redescription of V. yunnanensis.
Guo, P., Malhotra, A., Thorpe, R. S., Creer, S. & Pook, C. E., 1 Jul 2009, In: Herpetological Journal. 19, 3, p. 151-162Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 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. 85-96Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 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. e7268Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 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. 378-384Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2010
- 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. 172-178Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Ultrasequencing of the meiofaunal biosphere: practice, pitfalls and promises.
Creer, S., Fonseca, V. G., Porazinska, D. L., Giblin-Davis, R. M., Sung, W., Powers, D. M., Packer, M., Carvalho, G. R., Blaxter, M. L., Lambshead, P. J. & Thomas, W. K., 1 Mar 2010, In: Molecular Ecology. 19, 1, p. 4-20Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Second-generation sequencing derived insights into the temporal biodiversity dynamics of freshwater protists.
Creer, S., 1 Jul 2010, In: Molecular Ecology. 19, 14, p. 2829-2831Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Genetic structure of Carcinus maenas within its native range: larval dispersal and oceanographic variability.
Domingues, C. P., Creer, S., Taylor, M. I., Queiroga, H. & Carvalho, G. R., 14 Jul 2010, In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. 410, p. 111-123Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Second-generation environmental sequencing unmasks marine metazoan biodiversity.
Fonseca, V. G., Carvalho, G. R., Sung, W., Johnson, H. F., Power, D. M., Neill, S. P., Packer, M., Blaxter, M. L., Lambshead, J. D., Thomas, W. K. & Creer, S., 19 Oct 2010, In: Nature Communications. 1, 7, p. 98Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2011
- Published
Temporal genetic homogeneity among shore crab (Carcinus maenas) larval events supplied to an estuarine system on the Portuguese northwest coast.
Domingues, C. P., Creer, S., Taylor, M. I., Queiroga, H. & Carvalho, G. R., 1 May 2011, In: Heredity. 106, 5, p. 832-840Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Competition and phylogeny determine community structure in Müllerian co-mimics
Alexandrou, M. A., Oliveira, C., Maillard, M., McGill, R. A., Newton, J., Creer, S. & Taylor, M. I., 1 Jun 2011, In: Nature. 469, p. 84-88Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2012
- Published
Sample richness and genetic diversity as drivers of chimera formation in nSSU metagenetic analyses
Fonseca, V. G., Nichols, B., Lallias, D., Quince, C., Carvalho, G. R., Power, D. M. & Creer, S., 25 Jan 2012, In: Nucleic Acids Research. 40, 9, p. e66Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 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. e30289Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Cosmopolitanism of microbial eukaryotes in the global deep seas
Creer, S. & Sinniger, F., 1 Mar 2012, In: Molecular Ecology. 21, 5, p. 1033-1035Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Sequencing our way towards understanding global eukaryotic biodiversity
Bik, H. M., Porazinska, D., Creer, S., Caporaso, J. G., Knight, R. & Thomas, W. K., 1 Apr 2012, In: Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 27, 4, p. 233-243Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2013
- 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. 1589-1608Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Experimental harvesting of fish populations drives genetically based shifts in body size and maturation
Van Wijk, S. J., van Wijk, S. J., Taylor, M. I., Creer, S., Dreyer, C., Rodrigues, F. M., Ramnarine, I. W., van Oosterhout, C. & Carvalho, G. R., 1 May 2013, In: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 11, 4, p. 181–187Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Can Long-Range PCR Be Used to Amplify Genetically Divergent Mitochondrial Genomes for Comparative Phylogenetics? A Case Study within Spiders (Arthropoda: Araneae)
Briscoe, A. G., Goodacre, S., Masta, S. E., Taylor, M. I., Arnedo, M. A., Penney, D., Kenny, J. & Creer, S., 8 May 2013, In: PLoS ONE. 8, 5, p. e62404Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Investigating the molecular systematic relationships amongst selected Plesionika (Decapoda: Pandalidae) from the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea
da Silva, J. M., dos Santos, A., Cunha, M. R., Costa, F. O., Creer, S. & Carvalho, G. R., 1 Jun 2013, In: Marine Ecology. 34, 2, p. 157-170Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 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. 113-125Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 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. e70051Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2014
- 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. 20133076Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Environmental DNA for Wildlife Biology and Biodiversity Monitoring
Evans, A. R., Bohmann, K., Evans, A., Gilbert, M. T., Carvalho, G. R., Creer, S., Knapp, M., Yu, D. W. & De Bruyn, M., 10 May 2014, In: Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 29, 6, p. 358-367Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Metagenetic analysis of patterns of distribution and diversity of marine meiobenthic eukaryotes
Fonseca, V. G., Carvalho, G. R., Nichols, B., Quince, C., Johnson, H. F., Neill, S. P., Lambshead, J. D., Thomas, W. K., Power, D. M. & Creer, S., 25 Aug 2014, In: Global Ecology and Biogeography. 23, 11, p. 1293–1302Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 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. 1208-1221Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2015
- 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. 266-279Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 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. 344-358Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2016
- 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. 435-449Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Coexisting cryptic species of the Litoditis marina complex (Nematoda) show differential resource use and have distinct microbiomes with high intraspecific variability
Derycke, S., De Meester, N., Rigaux, A., Creer, S., Bik, H. M., Thomas, W. K. & Moens, T., May 2016, In: Molecular Ecology. 25, 9, p. 2093-2110Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 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. 1280-1284Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Worldwide Analysis of Sedimentary DNA Reveals Major Gaps in Taxonomic Knowledge of Deep-Sea Benthos
Sinniger, F., Pawlowski, J., Harii, S., Gooday, A. J., Yamamoto, H., Chevaldonne, P., Cedhagen, T., Carvalho, G. & Creer, S., 14 Jun 2016, In: Frontiers in Marine Science. 3, 92Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 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 journal › Article › peer-review
- 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. 1754-1768Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
The ecologist’s field guide to sequence-based identification of biodiversity
Creer, S., Deiner, K., Frey, S., Porazinska, D., Taberlet, P., Thomas, W. K., Potter, C. & Bik, H. M., 13 Sept 2016, In: Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 7, p. 1008-1018 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 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 journal › Article › peer-review
- 2017
- 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 journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Using DNA metabarcoding to investigate honey bee foraging reveals limited flower use despite high floral availability
De Vere, N., Jones, L. E., Gilmore, T., Moscrop, J., Lowe, A., Smith, D., Hegarty, M. J., Creer, S. & Ford, C. R., 2017, In: Scientific Reports. 7, 42838.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Annual time-series analysis of aqueous eDNA reveals ecologically relevant dynamics of lake ecosystem biodiversity
Bista, I., Carvalho, G., Walsh, K., Seymour, M., Hajibabaei, M., Lallias, D., Christmas, M. & Creer, S., Jan 2017, In: Nature Communications. 8, 14087.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Marine ecology: Genetics from a drop in the ocean
Creer, S. & Seymour, M., 4 Jan 2017, In: Nature Ecology and Evolution. 1, 0037.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate
- 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. 129-143Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review