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

    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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. 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

  11. 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