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. Article › Research › Peer-reviewed
  2. 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. 181–187

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  3. 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

  4. 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. 317-329

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  5. 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. 111-123

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  6. 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 journalArticlepeer-review

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. Published

    Introduction: Special issue on species interactions, ecological networks and community dynamics – Untangling the entangled bank using molecular techniques

    Roslin, T., Traugott, M., Jonsson, M., Stone, G. N., Creer, S. & Symondson, W. O. C., 1 Jan 2019, In: Molecular Ecology. 28, 2, p. 157-164

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  11. 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. 157-170

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  12. 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

  13. 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

  14. Published

    Long term drought and warming alter soil bacterial and fungal communities in an upland heathland

    Seaton, F., Reinsch, S., Goodall, T., White, N., Jones, D. L., Griffiths, R., Creer, S., Smith, A., Emmett, B. A. & Robinson, D. A., Sept 2022, In: Ecosystems. 25, 6, p. 1279-1294 16 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  15. 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

  16. 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. 1293–1302

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  17. Published

    Microscale pollen release and dispersal patterns in flowering grass populations

    Frisk, C. A., Apangu, G. P., Petch, G. M., Creer, S., Hanson, M., Adams-Groom, B. & Skjoth, C. A., 1 Jul 2023, In: Science of the Total Environment. 880, 163345.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  18. 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

  19. Published

    Molecular characterization of a marine turtle tumor epizootic, profiling external, internal and postsurgical regrowth tumors

    Yetsko, K., Farrell, J., Blackburn, N. B., Whitmore, L., Stammnitz, M. R., Whilde, J., Eastman, C., Ramia, D. R., Thomas, R., Krstic, A., Linser, P., Creer, S., Carvalho, G., Devlin, M. A., Nahvi, N., Leandro, A. C., deMaar, T. W., Burkhalter, B., Murchison, E. P., Schnitzler, C. & Duffy, D., 1 Feb 2021, In: Communications Biology. 4, 1, 152.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  20. Published

    Molecular ecology of microbiomes in the wild: Common pitfalls, methodological advances and future directions

    Fountain-Jones, N. M., Giraud, T., Zinger, L., Bik, H., Creer, S. & Videvall, E., 12 Jan 2024, In: Molecular Ecology. 33, 2, e1723.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  21. 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. 1967-1981

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  22. 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

  23. Published

    Novel insights into marine fish biodiversity across a pronounced environmental gradient using replicated environmental DNA analyses

    Czachur, M. V., Seymour, M., Creer, S. & von der Heyden, S., 1 Jan 2022, In: Environmental DNA. 4, 1

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  24. 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. 907-913

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  25. Published

    On the application of molecular barcodes in toxinological research

    Creer, S., 1 Nov 2005, In: Toxicon. 46, 6, p. 709-710

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  26. 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. 57-72

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review