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
- 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
- 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
- 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
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
- 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
- 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
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
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
- 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
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
- 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
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
Ecosystems monitoring powered by environmental genomics: a review of current strategies with an implementation roadmap
Cordier, T., Alonso-Saez, L., Apothéloz-Perret-Gentil, Aylagas, E., Bohan, D. A., Bouchez, A., Chariton, A. A., Creer, S., Fruhe, L., Keck, F., Keeley, N., Laroche, O., Leese, F., Pochon, X., Stoeck, T., Pawlowski, J. & Lanzen, A., Jul 2021, In: Molecular Ecology. 30, 13, p. 2937-2958 22 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Plastic responses to past environments shape adaptation to novel selection pressures
Coates, S., Comeault, A., Wood, D. P., Fay, M. F., Creer, S., Osborne, O., Dunning, L. T. & Papadopulos, A. S. T., 30 Jan 2025, In: PNAS. 122, 5, e2409541122.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
High throughput shotgun sequencing of eRNA reveals taxonomic and derived functional shifts across a benthic productivity gradient
Broman, E., Bonaglia, S., Norkko, A., Creer, S. & Nascimento, F. J. A., Jul 2021, In: Molecular Ecology. 30, 13, p. 3023-3039 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Salinity drives meiofaunal community structure dynamics across the Baltic ecosystem
Broman, E., Raymond, C., Sommer, C., Gunnarsson, J. S., Creer, S. & Nascimento, F. J. A., Aug 2019, In: Molecular Ecology. 28, 16, p. 3813-3829 17 p.Research 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
Temperate airborne grass pollen defined by spatio-temporal shifts in community composition
Brennan, G. L., Potter, C., De Vere, N., Griffith, G. W., Skjøth, C. A., Osborne, N. J., Wheeler, B. W., McInnes, R. N., Clewlow, Y., Barber, A., Hanlon, H. M., Hegarty, M., Jones, L., Kurganskiy, A., Rowney, F. M., Armitage, C., Adams-Groom, B., Ford, C. R., Petch, G. M., The PollerGEN Consortium & Creer, S., May 2019, In: Nature Ecology and Evolution. 3, 5, p. 750-754Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Strategies for sample labelling and library preparation in DNA metabarcoding studies
Bohmann, K., Elbrecht, V., Caroe, C., Bista, I., Leese, F., Bunce, M., Yu, D. W., Seymour, M., Dumbrell, A. & Creer, S., May 2022, In: Molecular Ecology Resources. 22, 4, p. 1231-1246 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review 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
Performance of amplicon and shotgun sequencing for accurate biomass estimation in invertebrate community samples
Bista, I., Carvalho, G., Tang, M., Walsh, K., Zhou, X., Hajibabaei, M., Shokralla, S., Seymour, M., Bradley, D., Liu, S., Christmas, M. & Creer, S., Sept 2018, In: Molecular Ecology Resources. 18, 5, p. 1020-1034Research 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
- Published
Epistatic regulation of growth in Atlantic salmon revealed: a QTL study performed on the domesticated-wild interface
Besnier, F., Solberg, M. F., Harvey, A., Carvalho, G., Bekkevold, D., Taylor, M. I., Creer, S., Nielsen, E. E., Skaala, O., Ayllon, F., Dahle, G. & Glover, K. A., 7 Feb 2020, In: BMC Genetics. 21, 1, 13.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Bacillus indicus and Bacillus subtilis as alternative health and colouration promoters to synthetic astaxanthin in cyprinid aquaculture species.
Baumgärtner, S., Creer, S., Jones, C., James, J. & Ellison, A., 15 Jan 2024, In: Aquaculture. 578, 740016.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Chapter Ten - Informing marine spatial planning decisions with environmental DNA
Bani, A., De Brauwer, M., Creer, S., Dumbrell, A. J., Limmon, G., Jompa, J., von der Heyden, S. & Berger, M., 2020, In: Advances in Ecological Research. 62, p. 375-407Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Connecting high‐throughput biodiversity inventories: Opportunities for a site‐based genomic framework for global integration and synthesis
Arribas, P., Andujar, C., Bidartondo, M. I., Bohmann, K., Coissac, E., Creer, S., deWaard, J. R., Elbrecht, V., Ficetola, G. F., Goberna, M., Kennedy, S., Krehenwinkel, H., Leese, F., Novotny, V., Ronquist, F., Yu, D. W., Zinger, L., Creedy, T. J., Meramveliotakis, E., Noguerales, V., Overcast, I., Morlon, H., Vogler, A. P., Papadopoulou, A. & Emerson, B. C., 1 Mar 2021, In: Molecular Ecology. 30, 5, p. 1120-1135 16 p.Research 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
- Published
Airborne DNA reveals predictable spatial and seasonal dynamics of fungi
Abrego, N., Furneaux, B., Hardwick, B., Somervuo, P., Palorinne, I., Aguilar-Trigueros, C. A., Andrew, N. R., Babiy, U. V., Bao, T., Bazzano, G., Bondarchuk, S. N., Bonebrake, T. C., Brennan, G. L., Bret-Harte, S., Bässler, C., Cagnolo, L., Cameron, E. K., Chapurlat, E., Creer, S., D'Acqui, L. P., de Vere, N., Desprez-Loustau, M.-L., Dongmo, M. A. K., Jacobsen, I. B. D., Fisher, B. L., Flores de Jesus, M., Gilbert, G. S., Griffith, G. W., Gritsuk, A. A., Gross, A., Grudd, H., Halme, P., Hanna, R., Hansen, J., Hansen, L. H., Hegbe, A. D. M. T., Hill, S., Hogg, I. D., Hultman, J., Hyde, K. D., Hynson, N. A., Ivanova, N., Karisto, P., Kerdraon, D., Knorre, A., Krisai-Greilhuber, I., Kurhinen, J., Kuzmina, M., Lecomte, N., Lecomte, E., Loaiza, V., Lundin, E., Meire, A., Mešić, A., Miettinen, O., Monkhouse, N., Mortimer, P., Müller, J., Nilsson, R. H., Nonti, P. Y. C., Nordén, J., Nordén, B., Norros, V., Paz, C., Pellikka, P., Pereira, D., Petch, G., Pitkänen, J.-M., Popa, F., Potter, C., Purhonen, J., Pätsi, S., Rafiq, A., Raharinjanahary, D., Rakos, N., Rathnayaka, A. R., Raundrup, K., Rebriev, Y. A., Rikkinen, J., Rogers, H. M. K., Rogovsky, A., Rozhkov, Y., Runnel, K., Saarto, A., Savchenko, A., Schlegel, M., Schmidt, N. M., Seibold, S., Skjøth, C., Stengel, E., Sutyrina, S. V., Syvänperä, I., Tedersoo, L., Timm, J., Tipton, L., Toju, H., Uscka-Perzanowska, M., van der Bank, M., van der Bank, F. H., Vandenbrink, B., Ventura, S., Vignisson, S. R., Wang, X., Weisser, W. W., Wijesinghe, S. N., Wright, S. J., Yang, C., Yorou, N. S., Young, A., Yu, D. W., Zakharov, E. V., Hebert, P. D. N., Roslin, T. & Ovaskainen, O., 25 Jul 2024, In: Nature. 631, 8022, p. 835-842 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review