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

    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

  3. 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. 1020-1034

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  4. 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

  5. Published

    Plant and soil communities are associated with the response of soil water repellency to environmental stress

    Seaton, F., Jones, D. L., Creer, S., George, P., Smart, S. M., Lebron, I., Barrett, G., Emmett, B. & Robinson, D., 15 Oct 2019, In: Science of the Total Environment. 687, p. 929-938

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. 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

  11. Published

    Primer and database choice affect fungal functional but not biological diversity findings in a national soil survey

    George, P., Creer, S., Griffiths, R. I., Emmett, B. A., Robinson, D. A. & Jones, D. L., 1 Nov 2019, In: Frontiers in Environmental Science. 7, 173.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  12. Published

    Revealing higher than expected meiofaunal diversity in Antarctic sediments: a metabarcoding approach

    Fonseca, V. G., Sinninger, F., Gaspar, J. M., Quince, C., Creer, S., Power, D., Peck, L. S. & Clark, M. S., 21 Jul 2017, In: Scientific Reports. 7, 6094.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  13. 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

  14. 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 journalArticlepeer-review

  15. 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. e66

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  16. 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

  17. 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

  18. 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. 98

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  19. 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. 2829-2831

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  20. 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. 233-243

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  21. Published

    Shifts in Soil Structure, Biological, and Functional Diversity Under Long-Term Carbon Deprivation

    George, P. B. L., Fidler, D. B., Van Nostrand, J. D., Atkinson, J. A., Mooney, S. J., Creer, S., Griffiths, R. I., McDonald, J. E., Robinson, D. A. & Jones, D. L., 14 Sept 2021, In: Frontiers in Microbiology. 12, 735022.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  22. 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

  23. Published

    Soil health cluster analysis based on national monitoring of soil indicators

    Seaton, F. M., Barrett, G., Burden, A., Creer, S., Fitos, E., Garbutt, A., Griffiths, R. I., Henrys, P., Jones, D. L., Keenan, P., Keith, A., Lebron, I., Maskell, L., Pereira, M. G., Reinsch, S., Smart, S. M., Williams, B., Emmett, B. A. & Robinson, D. A., Nov 2021, In: European Journal of Soil Science. 72, 6, p. 2414-2429 16 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  24. Published

    Soil textural heterogeneity impacts bacterial but not fungal diversity

    Seaton, F., George, P., Lebron, I., Jones, D. L., Creer, S. & Robinson, D. A., 1 May 2020, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 144, 107766.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  25. Published

    Subtle shifts in microbial communities occur alongside the release of carbon induced by drought and rewetting in contrasting peatland ecosystems

    Potter, C., Freeman, C., Golyshin, P., Ackerman, G., Fenner, N., McDonald, J., Ehbair, A., Jones, T., Murphy, L. & Creer, S., Sept 2017, In: Scientific Reports. 7, 11314.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  26. 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