The Anderson Lab

Cerro Santa Ana

 

Research

Insular Biogeography

Modeling niches and distributions

Fieldwork, taxonomy, and phylogeny

Our interdisciplinary research includes three interconnected areas (follow links below):

Highlights:

 

Our lab conducts biogeographic studies at the interface between ecology and evolution. We study spatial patterns of environmental suitability (e.g., for a particular species) and their ecological and evolutionary consequences. To do so, our research spans levels of biological organization and includes the three interconnected areas listed above (follow links for additional information). 

 

• Recently, we produced two R packages (spThin and ENMeval; see Publications tab) and a beta version of a software ("Wallace") that allows users to access some of their functionalities via a web app (over the internet, or installed locally; see News tab).

 

 

• Currently, we are funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Systematics and Biodiversity Science Program, Division of Environmental Biology) entitled “Testing species limits, phylogeographic concordance, and niche evolution in Madagascar's endemic small mammals." The grant is in collaboration with Link Olson (University of Alaska, Fairbanks), Sharon Jansa (University of Minnesota), and Steven Goodman (Field Museum of Natural History).

 

• In addition, Mariano Soley-Guardia (co-PI) and Rob Anderson received a grant from the PSC-CUNY (Professional Staff Congress of the City University of New York) entitled "Effects of Quaternary climatic oscillations on the evolution of small mammals in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama" to fund fieldwork in Costa Rica.

 

• In 2011, Rob Anderson was selected by the New York Academy of Sciences as a finalist for the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, which recognize impactful, innovative, and interdisciplinary accomplishments in the life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, and engineering. See Anderson Blavatnik profile.

 

• Previously, we were funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation entitled “Integrating systematics and GIS modeling: biogeography of spiny pocket mice (Heteromyidae) in South America."