Academic CV

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Professional experience

2021–25: Research Scientist, Stock Assessment and Research Division, Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
2025: Associate Editor, Methods in Ecology and Evolution
2019–25: Associate Editor, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
2020–23: Adjunct Professor, Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University
2017–20: Program Head in Analytical Approaches and Spatial Stock Assessment, Groundfish Section, Stock Assessment and Research Division, Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
2015–17: David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington and Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA
2015: Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University

Education

2011–15: Ph.D. Biology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
Variance and extreme events in population ecology
Fulbright Scholar to the University of Washington in 2012–13
Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal
2008–10: M.Sc. Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
Trends, drivers, and ecosystem effects of expanding global invertebrate fisheries
Canadian Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal
2004–07: B.Sc. (Hons.) Environmental Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
2001–03: B.Sc. Candidate (Hons.) Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada

Preprints

2025: Davidson, L.N.K., P.A. English, J.R. King, P. Grant, I.G. Taylor, L. Barnett, V. Gertseva, C.A. Tribuzio, and S.C. Anderson. 2025. Rapid widespread declines of an abundant coastal shark. EcoEvoRxiv. https://doi.org/10.32942/X2V64Z.
2024: Lindmark, M., S.C. Anderson, J.T. Thorson. Estimating scale-dependent covariate responses using two-dimensional diffusion derived from the SPDE method. bioRxiv 2024.12.17.628864. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.17.628864.
2024: Thorson, J.T., S.C. Anderson, P. Goddard, C.N. Rooper. tinyVAST: R package with an expressive interface to specify lagged and simultaneous effects in multivariate spatio-temporal models. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2401.10193.
2021: Anderson, S.C, B.M. Connors, P.A. English, R.E. Forrest, R. Haigh, K.R. Holt. Trends in Pacific Canadian groundfish stock status. bioRxiv 2021.12.13.472502. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.13.472502.

Publications

2025: Dunic, J.C., J. Conner, S.C. Anderson, J.T. Thorson. The generalized gamma is a flexible distribution that outperforms alternatives when modelling catch rate data. In press at ICES Journal of Marine Science. arXiv preprint: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2501.05618.
2025: Indivero, J., S.C. Anderson, L.A.K. Barnett, T.E. Essington, and E.J. Ward. Estimating a physiological threshold to oxygen and temperature from marine monitoring data reveals challenges and opportunities for forecasting distribution shifts. Ecography. e07413. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.07413.
2024: Ward, E.J., S.C. Anderson, L.A.K. Barnett, P.A. English, H.M. Berger, C.J.C. Commander, T.E Essington, C.J Harvey, M.E. Hunsicker, M. Jacox, K.F Johnson, S. Large, O.R. Liu, K. Richerson, J.F. Samhouri, S.A. Siedlecki, A.O. Shelton, K.A. Somers, and J.T. Watson. Win, lose, or draw: evaluating dynamic thermal niches of northeast Pacific groundfish. PLOS Climate. 3(11): e0000454. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000454.
2024: Anderson, S.C., E.J. Ward, P.A. English, L.A.K. Barnett, and J.T. Thorson. sdmTMB: an R package for fast, flexible, and user-friendly generalized linear mixed effects models with spatial and spatiotemporal random fields. In press at Journal of Statistical Software. Preprint: bioRxiv 2022.03.24.485545. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.24.485545.
2024: Freshwater, C., S.C. Anderson, and J. King. Model-based indices of juvenile Pacific salmon abundance highlight species-specific seasonal distributions and impacts of changes to survey design. Fisheries Research. 277: 107063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2024.107063.
2024: Bass, A.L., S.C. Anderson, A.W. Bateman, B.M. Connors, M.A. Peña, S. Li, K.H. Kaukinen, D.A. Patterson, S.G. Hinch, and K.M. Miller. 2024. Intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with the spatio-temporal distribution of infectious agents in early marine Chinook and coho salmon. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 736: 107–127. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14581.
2024: Freshwater, C., S.C. Anderson, D.D. Huff, J.M. Smith, D. Jackson, B. Hendriks, S.G. Hinch, S. Johnston, A.W. Trites, and J. King. Chinook salmon depth distributions on the continental shelf are shaped by interactions between location, season, and individual condition. Movement Ecology. 12(1): 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-024-00464-y.
2024: Anderson, S.C., P.A. English, K.S.P. Gale, D.R. Haggarty, C.K. Robb, E.M. Rubidge, P.L. Thompson. Impacts on population indices if scientific surveys are excluded from marine protected areas. ICES Journal of Marine Science. fsae009. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsae009.
2024: Hughes, B.B., Beheshti, K.M., Tinker, M.T., Angelini, C., Endris, C., Murai, L., Anderson, S.C., Espinosa, S., Staedler, M., Tomoleoni, J.A., Sanchez, M., and Silliman, B.R. Top-predator recovery abates geomorphic decline of a coastal ecosystem. Nature 626(7997): 111–118. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06959-9.
2024: English, P.A., C.M. Picco, J.C. Edwards, D.R. Haggarty, R.E. Forrest, S.C. Anderson. Spatial restrictions hinder avoidance of choke species in an Indigenous rights-based fishery. People and Nature. 6: 75–90. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10554.
2023: Nephin, J., P.L. Thompson, S.C. Anderson, A.E. Park, C.N. Rooper, B. Aulthouse, and J. Watson. Integrating disparate survey data in species distribution models demonstrate the need for robust model evaluation. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 80(12): 1869-1889. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2022-0279.
2024: Baker, K.D., S.C. Anderson, D.R.J. Mullowney, W. Walkusz, and K.R. Skanes. Moving away from a scale mismatch: Spatiotemporal modelling of striped shrimp (Pandalus montagui) density in Canada’s subarctic. Fisheries Research. 270: 106898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2023.106898.
2023: Yalcin, S., S.C. Anderson, P.M. Regular, P.A. English. Exploring the limits of spatiotemporal and design-based index standardization under reduced survey coverage. ICES Journal of Marine Science. 80(9): 2368–2379. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsad155.
2023: K.L. Blake, D. Veríssimo, S.C. Anderson, A. Gleave. Impact on species’ online attention when named after celebrities. Conservation Biology. e14184. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14184.
2023: Davies S.C., P.L. Thompson, C. Gomez, J. Nephin, A. Knudby, A.E. Park, S.K. Friesen, L.J. Pollock, E.M. Rubidge, S.C. Anderson, J.C. Iacarella, D.A. Lyons, A.A. MacDonald, A. McMillan, E.J. Ward, A.M. Holdsworth, N. Swart, J. Price, K.L. Hunter. Addressing uncertainty when projecting marine species’ distributions under climate change. Ecography: e06731. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.06731.
2023: Liu, O.R. E.J. Ward, S.C. Anderson, K.S. Andrews, L.A.K. Barnett, S. Brodie, G. Carroll, J. Fiechter, M.A. Haltuch, C.J. Harvey, E.L. Hazen, P.Y. Hernvann, M. Jacox, I.C. Kaplan, S. Matson, K. Norman, M.P. Buil, R.L. Selden, A.O. Shelton, J.F. Samhouri. Species redistribution creates unequal outcomes for multispecies fisheries under projected climate change. Science Advances 9(33): eadg5468. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adg5468.
2023: Lindmark, M., S.C. Anderson, M. Gogina, M. Casini. Evaluating drivers of spatiotemporal variability in individual condition of a bottom-associated marine fish, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). ICES Journal of Marine Science. 80(5): 1539–1550. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsad084.
2023: Free, C.M., S.C. Anderson, E.A. Hellmers, B.A. Muhling, M.O. Navarro, K. Richerson, L.A. Rogers, W.H. Satterthwaite, A.R. Thompson, J.M. Burt, S.D. Gaines, K.N. Marshall, J.W. White, and L.F. Bellquist. Impact of the 2014–2016 marine heatwave on US and Canada West Coast fisheries: Surprises and lessons from key case studies. Fish and Fisheries. 24: 652–674. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12753.
2023: Thompson, P.L., S.C. Anderson, J. Nephin, C.K. Robb, B. Proudfoot, A.E. Park, D.R. Haggarty, E.M. Rubidge. Integrating trawl and longline surveys across British Columbia improves groundfish distribution predictions. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 80(1): 195–210. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2022-0108.
2022: Ward, E.J., L.A.K. Barnett, S.C. Anderson, C.J.C. Commander, T.E. Essington. Incorporating non-stationary spatial variability into dynamic species distribution models. ICES Journal of Marine Science. 79(9): 2422-2429. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsac179.
2022: Essington, T.E. S.C. Anderson, L.A.K. Barnett, H.M. Berger, S.A. Siedlecki, E.J. Ward. Advancing statistical models to reveal the effect of dissolved oxygen on the spatial distribution of marine taxa using thresholds and a physiologically based index. Ecography 2022(8): e06249. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.06249.
2022: Thompson, P.L., S.C. Anderson, J. Nephin, D.R. Haggarty, M. Angelica Peña, P.A. English, K.S.P. Gale, E. Rubidge. Disentangling the impacts of environmental change and commercial fishing on demersal fish biodiversity in a northeast Pacific ecosystem. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 689:137-154. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14034.
2022: Hunsicker, M.E., E.J. Ward, M.A. Litzow, S.C. Anderson, C.J. Harvey, J.C. Field, J. Gao, M.G. Jacox, S. Melin, A.R. Thompson, P. Warzybok. Tracking and forecasting community responses to climate perturbations in the California Current Ecosystem. PLOS Climate. 1(3): e0000014. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000014.
2022: Commander, C.J.C, L.A.K. Barnett, E.J. Ward, S.C. Anderson, T.E. Essington. The shadow model: how and why small choices in spatially explicit species distribution models affect predictions. PeerJ. 10: e12783. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12783.
2022: Stockdale, J.E., S.C. Anderson, A.M Edwards, S.A. Iyaniwura, N. Mulberry, M.C. Otterstatter, N.Z. Janjua, D. Coombs, C. Colijn, and M.A. Irvine. Quantifying transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 and impact of intervention within long-term healthcare facilities. Royal Society Open Science. 9(1): 211710. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211710.
2022: Ward, E.J., S.C. Anderson, M.D. Hunsicker, and M.A. Litzow. Smoothed dynamic factor analysis for identifying trends in multivariate time series. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 13(4):908-918. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13788.
2021: English, P., E.J. Ward, C.N. Rooper, R.E. Forrest, L.A. Rogers, K.L. Hunter, A.M. Edwards, B.M. Connors, S.C. Anderson. Contrasting climate velocity impacts in warm and cool locations show that effects of marine warming are worse in already warmer temperate waters. Fish and Fisheries. 23(1) 239–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12613. [PDF]
2021: Evans R., P.A. English , S.C. Anderson, S. Gauthier, C.L.K. Robinson. Factors affecting the seasonal distribution and biomass of E. pacifica and T. spinifera along the Pacific coast of Canada: A spatiotemporal modelling approach. PLOS ONE. 2021 May 14;16(5):e0249818. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249818.
2021: Freshwater C., S.C. Anderson, T.D. Beacham, W. Luedke, C. Wor, J. King. An integrated model of seasonal changes in stock composition and abundance with an application to Chinook salmon. PeerJ 9:e11163. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11163.
2021: Anderson, S.C., P.R. Elsen, B.B. Hughes, R.K. Tonietto, M.C. Bletz, D.A. Gill, M.A. Holgerson, S.E. Kuebbing, C. McDonough MacKenzie, M.H. Meek, D. Veríssimo. Trends in ecology and conservation over eight decades. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 19(5): 274–282. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2320.
2021: Anderson, S.C., Mulberry, N., Edwards, A.M., Stockdale, J.E., Iyaniwura, S.A., Falcao, R.C., Otterstatter, M.C., Janjua, N.Z., Coombs, D., and Colijn, C. 2020. How much leeway is there to relax COVID-19 control measures? Epidemics. 35: 100453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epidem.2021.100453.
2021: Barnett, L.A.K., E.J. Ward, S.C. Anderson. Improving estimates of species distribution change by incorporating local trends. Ecography. 44: 427–439. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.05176.
2020: Anderson, S.C., A.M. Edwards, M. Yerlanov, N. Mulberry, J. Stockdale, S.A. Iyaniwura, R.C. Falcao, M.C. Otterstatter, M.A. Irvine, N.Z. Janjua, D. Coombs, C. Colijn. Quantifying the impact of COVID-19 control measures using a Bayesian model of physical distancing. PLOS Computational Biology. 16(12): e1008274. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008274. medRxiv preprint: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.17.20070086.
2020: Maureaud, A., R. Frelat, L. Pecuchet, N.L. Shackell, B. Merigot, M.L. Pinsky, K. Amador, S.C. Anderson, … (67 co-authors), J.T. Thorson. Are we ready to track climate-driven shifts in marine species across international boundaries? A global survey of scientific bottom trawl data. Global Change Biology. 27: 220–236. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15404.
2020: Cahill, C.L., S.C. Anderson, A.J. Paul. L. Macphearson, M.G. Sullivan, B. van Poorten, C. Walters, J.R. Post. A spatial-temporal approach to modeling somatic growth across recreational fisheries landscapes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science. 77(11):1822–1835. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2019-0434.
2020: Litzow, M.A., M.E. Hunsicker, E.J. Ward, S.C. Anderson, J. Gao , S. Zador, S. Batten , S. Dressel, J. Duffy-Anderson, E. Fergusson, R. Hopcroft, B.J. Laurel, R. O’Malley Evaluating ecosystem change as Gulf of Alaska temperature exceeds the limits of preindustrial variability. Progress in Oceanography. 186:102393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2020.102393.
2020: Anderson, S.C., E.A. Keppel, A.M. Edwards. Reproducible visualization of raw fisheries data for 113 species improves transparency, assessment efficiency, and monitoring. Fisheries. 45:535–543. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10441. (PDF)
2020: Huynh, Q.C., A.R. Hordyk, R.E. Forrest, C.E. Porch, S.C. Anderson, T.R. Carruthers. The interim management procedure approach for assessed stocks: Responsive management advice and lower assessment frequency. Fish and Fisheries. 21(3):663-679. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12453.
2020: Free, C.M., O.P. Jensen, S.C. Anderson, N.L. Gutierrez, K.M. Kleisner, C. Longo, C. Minto, G.C. Osio, J.C. Walsh. Blood from a stone: performance of catch-only methods in estimating stock biomass status. Fisheries Research. 223:105452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2019.105452.
2020: Veríssimo, D., S.C. Anderson, M. Tlusty. Did the movie Finding Dory increase demand for blue tang fish? Ambio. 49:903–911. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01233-7.
2019: Freshwater, C., S.C. Anderson, K.R. Holt, A.-M. Huang, C.A. Holt. Weakened portfolio effects constrain management effectiveness for population aggregates. Ecological Applications. 29(7):e01966. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1966.
2019: Ward, E.J., S.C. Anderson, L.A. Damiano, M.E. Hunsicker, M.A. Litzow. Modeling regimes with extremes: the ‘bayesdfa’ package for identifying and forecasting common trends and anomalies in multivariate time-series data. The R Journal. 11(2):46–55. https://doi.org/10.32614/RJ-2019-007.
2019: Afflerbach, J.C., M. Frazier, H.E. Froehlich, S.C. Anderson, B.S. Halpern. Quantifying uncertainty in the wild-caught fisheries goal of the Ocean Health Index. Fish and Fisheries. 20(2):343–354. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12346.
2019: Beaudreau, A.H., E.J. Ward, R.E. Brenner, A.O. Shelton, J.T. Watson, J.C. Womack, S.C. Anderson, A.C. Haynie, K.N. Marshall, B.C. Williams. Thirty years of change and the future of Alaskan fisheries: Shifts in fishing participation and diversification in response to environmental, regulatory, and economic pressures. Fish and Fisheries. 20(4):601–619. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12364.
2019: Harvey, B.J., R.A. Andrus, S.C. Anderson. Incorporating biophysical gradients and uncertainty into burn severity maps in a temperate fire-prone forested region. Ecosphere. 10(2):02600. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2600.
2019: Marshall, K.N., J.T. Duffy-Anderson, E.J. Ward, S.C. Anderson, M.E. Hunsicker, B.C. Williams. Long-term trends in ichthyoplankton assemblage structure, biodiversity, and synchrony in the Gulf of Alaska and their relationships to climate. Progress in Oceanography. 170:134–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2018.11.002.
2019: Anderson, S.C., Ward, E. J. Black swans in space: modelling spatiotemporal processes with extremes. Ecology. 100(1):e02403. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2403. glmmfields R package: CRAN, GitHub.
2018: Walsh, J.C., C. Minto, E. Jardim, S.C. Anderson, O.P. Jensen, J. Afflerbach, K.M. Kleisner, M. Dickey-Collas, C. Longo, G.C. Osio, E.R. Selig, J.T. Thorson, M.B. Rudd, K.J. Papacostas, J.N. Kittinger, A.A. Rosenberg, A.B. Cooper. Trade-offs for data-limited fisheries when using harvest strategies based on catch-only models. Fish and Fisheries. 19(6):1130–1146. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12316.
2018: Ward, E.J., S.C. Anderson, A.O. Shelton, R.E. Brenner, M.D. Adkison, A.H. Beaudreau, J.T. Watson, J.C. Shriver, A.C. Haynie, B.C. Williams. Effects of increased specialization on revenue of Alaskan salmon fishers over four decades. Journal of Applied Ecology. 55(3):1082–1091. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13058.
2018: Hughes, B., S. Lummis, S.C. Anderson, K. Kroeker. Unexpected resilience of a seagrass system exposed to multiple stressors. Global Change Biology. 24(1) 224–234. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13854.
2018: Rosenberg, A.A., K.M. Kleisner, J. Afflerbach, S.C. Anderson, M. Dickey-Collas, A.B. Cooper, M.J. Fogarty, E.A. Fulton, N.L. Gutiérrez, K.J.W. Hyde, E. Jardim, O.P. Jensen, T. Kristiansen, C. Longo, C.V. Minte-Vera, C. Minto, I. Mosqueira, G.C. Osio, D. Ovando, E.R. Selig, J.T. Thorson, J.C. Walsh, Y. Ye. Applying a new ensemble approach to estimating stock status of marine fisheries around the world. Conservation Letters. 11(1): e12363. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12363.
2017: Anderson, S.C., T.A. Branch, A.B. Cooper, N.K. Dulvy. Reply to Youngflesh and Lynch: Migration and population growth rate in animal black-swan events. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114(43): E8955–E8956. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1714157114.
2017: Anderson, S.C., E.J. Ward, A.O. Shelton, M.D. Adkison, A.H. Beaudreau, R.E. Brenner, A.C. Haynie, J.C. Shriver, J.T. Watson, B.C. Williams. Benefits and risks of diversification for individual fishers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114(40):10797–10802. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1702506114.
2017: Megias, D.A., S.C. Anderson, R.J. Smith, D. Veríssimo. Investigating the impact of media on demand for wildlife: a case study of Harry Potter and the UK trade in owls. PLoS ONE. 12(10): e0182368. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182368.
2017: Chezik, K.A., S.C. Anderson, J.W. Moore. River networks dampen long-term hydrological signals of climate change. Geophysical Research Letters. 44(14):7256–7264. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074376.
2017: Anderson, S.C., T.A. Branch, A.B. Cooper, N.K. Dulvy. Black-swan events in animal populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114(12): 3252–3257. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1611525114.
2017: Anderson, S.C., A.B. Cooper, O.P. Jensen, C. Minto, J.T. Thorson, J.C. Walsh, J. Afflerbach, M. Dickey-Collas, K.M. Kleisner, C. Longo, G.C. Osio, D. Ovando, I. Mosqueira, A.A. Rosenberg, E.R. Selig. Improving estimates of population status and trend with superensemble models. Fish and Fisheries. 18(4): 732–741. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12200.
2016: Trebilco, R., N.K. Dulvy, S.C. Anderson, A.K. Salomon. The paradox of inverted biomass pyramids in kelp forest fish communities. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 283: 20160816. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.0816.
2016: Artelle, K.A., S.C. Anderson, J.D. Reynolds, A.B. Cooper, P.C. Paquet, C.T. Darimont. Ecology of conflict: marine food supply affects human-wildlife interactions on land. Scientific Reports. 6: 25936. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep25936 (PDF).
2016: Kuriyama, P.T., K. Ono, F. Hurtado-Ferro, A.C. Hicks, I.G. Taylor, R.R. Licandeo, K.F. Johnson, S.C. Anderson, C.C. Monnahan, M.B. Rudd, C.C. Stawitz, J.L. Valero. An empirical weight-at-age approach reduces estimation bias compared to modeling parametric growth in integrated, statistical stock assessment models when growth is time varying. Fisheries Research. 180: 119–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2015.09.007 (PDF).
2016: Monnahan, C.C., K. Ono, S.C. Anderson, M.B. Rudd, A.C. Hicks, F. Hurtado-Ferro, K.F. Johnson, P.T. Kuriyama, R.R. Licandeo, C.C. Stawitz, I.G. Taylor, J.L. Valero. The effect of length bin width on growth estimation in integrated age-structured stock assessments. Fisheries Research. 180: 103–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2015.11.002 (PDF).
2015: Boudreau, S.A., S.C. Anderson, B. Worm. Top-down and bottom-up forces interact at thermal range extremes on American lobster. Journal of Animal Ecology. 84(3): 840–850. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12322 (PDF).
2015: Anderson, S.C., J.W. Moore, M.M. McClure, N.K. Dulvy, A.B. Cooper. Portfolio conservation of metapopulations under climate change. Ecological Applications. 25(2): 559–572. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-0266.1 (PDF).
2015: Orzechowski, E.A., R. Lockwood, J.E.K. Byrnes, S.C. Anderson, S. Finnegan, Z.V. Finkel, P.G. Harnik, D.R. Lindberg, L.H. Liow, H.K. Lotze, C.R. McClain, J.L. McGuire, A. O’Dea, J.M. Pandolfi, C. Simpson, D.P. Tittensor. Marine extinction risk shaped by trait-environment interactions over 500 million years. Global Change Biology. 21(10): 3595–3607. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12963 (PDF).
2015: Finnegan, S.*, S.C. Anderson*, P.G. Harnik*, C. Simpson, D.P. Tittensor, J.E. Byrnes, Z.V. Finkel, D.R. Lindberg, L.H. Liow, R. Lockwood, H.K. Lotze, C.R. McClain, J.L. McGuire, A. O’Dea, J.M. Pandolfi. Paleontological baselines for evaluating extinction risk in the modern oceans. Science. 348(6234): 567–570. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa6635 (*Authors contributed equally).
2015: Hurtado-Ferro, F., C.S. Szuwalski, J.L. Valero, S.C. Anderson, C.J. Cunningham, K.F. Johnson, R.R. Licandeo, C.R. McGilliard, C.C. Monnahan, M.L. Muradian, K. Ono, K.A. Vert-Pre, A.R. Whitten, A.E. Punt. Looking in the rear-view mirror: bias and retrospective patterns in integrated, age-structured stock assessment models. ICES Journal of Marine Sciences. 72(1): 99–110. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsu198 (PDF).
2015: Johnson, K.F., C.C. Monnahan, C.R. McGilliard, K.A. Vert-pre, S.C. Anderson, C.J. Cunningham, F. Hurtado-Ferro, R.R. Licandeo, M.L. Muradian, K. Ono, C.S. Szuwalski, J.L. Valero, A.R. Whitten, A.E. Punt. Time-varying natural mortality in fisheries stock assessment models: identifying a default approach. ICES Journal of Marine Science. 72(1): 137–150. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsu055 (PDF).
2015: Ono, K., R. Licandeo, M.L. Muradian, C.J. Cunningham, S.C. Anderson, F. Hurtado-Ferro, K.F. Johnson, C.R. McGilliard, C.C. Monnahan, C.S. Szuwalski, J.L. Valero, K.A. Vert-Pre, A.R. Whitten, A.E. Punt. The importance of length and age composition data in statistical age-structured models for marine species. ICES Journal of Marine Science. 72(1): 31–43. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsu007 (PDF).
2014: Farmer, R.G., M.L. Leonard, J.E. Mills Flemming, S.C. Anderson. Observer aging and long-term avian survey data quality. Ecology and Evolution. 4(12): 2563–2576. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1101 (PDF). National Geographic news story.
2014: Anderson, S.C., C.C. Monnahan, K.F. Johnson, K. Ono, J.L. Valero. ss3sim: An R package for fisheries stock assessment simulation with Stock Synthesis. PLoS ONE. 9(4): e92725. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0092725 (PDF). (R package, code).
2014: O’Regan, S.M., W.J. Palen, S.C. Anderson. Climate warming mediates negative impacts of rapid pond drying for three amphibian species. Ecology. 95(4): 845–855. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-0916.1 (PDF). F1000 Prime recommended.
2013: Favaro, B., D.C. Braun, Earth2Ocean Research Derby. Research Derby: A pressure cooker for creative collaborative science. Ideas in Ecology and Evolution. Ideas in Ecology and Evolution. 6: 40–46. https://doi.org/10.4033/iee.v6i1.4931 (Open access).
2013: Anderson, S.C., A.B. Cooper, N.K. Dulvy. Ecological prophets: Quantifying metapopulation portfolio effects. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 4(10): 971–981. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12093 (PDF, GitHub R package).
2013: Artelle, K.A., S.C. Anderson, A.B. Cooper, P.C. Paquet, J.D. Reynolds, C.T. Darimont. Confronting uncertainty in wildlife management: performance of grizzly bear management. PLoS ONE. 8(11): e78041. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0078041 (PDF).
2013: Phillis*, C.C., S.M. O’Regan*, S.J. Green*, J.E. Bruce*, S.C. Anderson, J.N. Linton, Earth2Ocean Research Derby, B. Favaro. Multiple pathways to conservation success. Conservation Letters. 6(2): 98–106. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2012.00294.x (PDF, GitHub repository). (*Authors contributed equally, listed in reverse alphabetical order).
2012: Harnik, P.G., H.K. Lotze, S.C. Anderson, Z.V. Finkel, S. Finnegan, D.R. Lindberg, L.H. Liow, R. Lockwood, C.R. McClain, J.L. McGuire, A. O’Dea, J.M. Pandolfi, C. Simpson, D.P. Tittensor. Extinctions in ancient and modern seas. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 27(11): 608–617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2012.07.010 (PDF).
2012: Anderson, S.C., T.A. Branch, D. Ricard, H.K. Lotze. Assessing global marine fishery status with a revised dynamic catch-based method and stock-assessment reference points. ICES Journal of Marine Science. 69(8): 1491–1500. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fss105.
2011: Anderson, S.C., R.G. Farmer, F. Ferretti, A.L.S. Houde, J.A. Hutchings. Correlates of vertebrate extinction risk in Canada. BioScience. 61(7): 538–549. https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2011.61.7.8 (PDF).
2011: Anderson, S.C., J.E. Mills Flemming, R. Watson, H.K. Lotze. Serial exploitation of global sea cucumber fisheries. Fish and Fisheries. 12(3): 317–339. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-2979.2010.00397.x (PDF). Featured in Science.
2011: Boudreau, S.A., S.C. Anderson, B. Worm. Top-down interactions and temperature control of snow crab abundance in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 429: 169–183. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09081 (PDF).
2011: Anderson, S.C., J.E. Mills Flemming, R. Watson, H.K. Lotze. Rapid global expansion of invertebrate fisheries: trends, drivers, and ecosystem effects. PLoS ONE. 6(3): e14735. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014735 (PDF). F1000 Prime recommended.
2008: Anderson, S.C., H.K. Lotze, N.L. Shackell. Evaluating the knowledge base for expanding low-trophic-level fisheries in Atlantic Canada. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 65(12): 2553–2571. https://doi.org/10.1139/F08-156 (PDF).

Software

sdmTMB

R package for fitting spatial and spatiotemporal GLMMs (generalized linear mixed effects models) with TMB (Template Model Builder); inspired by the VAST R package.
One common application is for spatially explicit species distribution models.
Used by fisheries agencies including US NOAA, Canadian DFO, and and European ICES.
Widely used in the primary literature on everything from woolly rhinoceros extinction to human-elephant conflict to ants.
A paper on sdmTMB is in press at Journal of Statistical Software. (Preprint)

covidseir

Was the primary statistical model for COVID-19 forecasts for Canada (Public Health Agency of Canada) starting in August 2020 and British Columbia starting in April 2020.
Fits a Bayesian SEIR (Susceptible, Exposed, Infectious, Recovered) model to daily COVID-19 case data.
Can accommodate multiple types of case data at once (e.g., reported cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions) and accounts for delays between symptom onset and case appearance.
Can evaluate epidemic forecasts given changes to population contact rates (e.g., levels of social distancing).
Model described in an Epidemics paper and a PLoS Computational Biology paper.

bayesdfa

R package for fitting Bayesian Dynamic Factor Analysis (DFA) time series models (co-developed with E.J. Ward)
Can identify common trends, extreme events, or regime shifts in multiple ecological timeseries.
Used in a growing number published papers and government reports.
A paper describing the package is published in The R Journal.

csasdown

R package for reproducible Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Research Documents, Science Responses, and Technical Reports via R Markdown.
Enables fully reproducible CSAS reports going directly from databases to analysis to written reports to bring CSAS reports in line with modern data analysis best practices.
Used to produce dozens of reproducible government reports across Canada.

rosettafish

Enables the seamless translation of fish- and fisheries-related terms in R code to enable reproducible and efficient production of bilingual CSAS Research Documents and Science Responses.
Regularly used in csasdown-based publications.

gfdata, gfplot, gfsynopsis

R packages to facilitate rapid and reproducible data extraction, model fitting, and plotting of BC groundfish data.
gfsynopsis is used to generate an annual report showing all available fishery and biological data and model fits for over 100 groundfish species.
gfdata and gfplot support gfsynopsis, many BC groundfish stock assessments, and BC groundfish research.

glmmfields

Bayesian generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) with robust (multivariate-t) random fields for spatiotemporal modeling.
Allows identification of extreme changes in spatial distribution (e.g., rapid range contractions).
A paper describing the model is published in Ecology.

ss3sim

R package for flexible, rapid, and reproducible fisheries stock assessment simulation testing with the widely used Stock Synthesis (SS3) statistical assessment framework.
Maintained as a tool associated with the NOAA Fisheries Integrated Toolbox.
Used in at least 9 published papers.
Paper describing ss3sim.

Peer-reviewed government reports

2024: DFO. Status Update of Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus) off the West Coast of Vancouver Island in 2023. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Resp. 2024/003. (English version, French version)
2024: Grandin, C.J., S.C. Anderson, P.A. English. Arrowtooth Flounder (Atheresthes stomias) Stock Assessment for the West Coast of British Columbia in 2021. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. In press. (Associated Science Advisory Report)
2024: Barrett, T.J., J.R. Marentette, R.E. Forrest, S.C. Anderson, C.A. Holt, D.W. Ings, M.E. Thiess. Technical Considerations for Stock Status and Limit Reference Points under the Fish Stocks Provisions. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2024/029. v + 57 p. (Research Document)
2022: DFO. A data synopsis for British Columbia groundfish: 2021 data update. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Resp. 2022/020. (English version, French version)
2021: DFO. Status Update of Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus) for West Coast Vancouver Island (Area 3CD), and Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound (Area 5ABCD) in 2020. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Resp. 2021/002. (English version, French version)
2021: Anderson, S.C., R.E. Forrest, Q.C. Huynh, E.A. Keppel. A management procedure framework for groundﬁsh in British Columbia. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2021/007. (Research Document, Associated Science Advisory Report)
2021: Haggarty D.R., Q.C. Huynh, R.E. Forrest, S.C. Anderson, M.J. Bresch, E.A. Keppel. Evaluation of potential rebuilding strategies for Inside Yelloweye Rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) in British Columbia. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2021/008. (Research Document)
2020: Forrest, R.E., S.C. Anderson, C.J. Grandin, P.J. Starr. Assessment of Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus) for Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound (Area 5ABCD), and West Coast Vancouver Island (Area 3CD) in 2018. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2020/070 iv + 204 p. (English version, French version)
2019: Anderson, S.C., E.A. Keppel, A.M. Edwards, 2019. A reproducible data synopsis for over 100 species of British Columbia groundfish. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2019/041. vii + 321 p. (English version, French version)

Technical reports

2025: Dunic, J.C. and Anderson, S.C. Assessing the quality of groundfish population indices derived from the small-mesh multi-species bottom trawl survey. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3667: v + 40 p. https://doi.org/10.60825/rjyz-8w29.
2024: Anderson, S.C., Dunic, J.C., Keppel, E.A., and Edwards, A.M. A data synopsis for British Columbia groundfish: 2023 data update. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3641: viii + 262 p. https://doi.org/10.60825/aevx-nb49.
2024: Anderson, S.C., J.C. Dunic., P.A. English. In State of the physical, biological and selected fishery resources of Pacific Canadian marine ecosystems in 2023. Edited by Boldt, J.L., Joyce, E., Tucker, S., Gauthier, S., and Dosser, H. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3598. pp. 157–166. PDF
2024: Anderson, S.C., Dunic, J.C., Keppel, E.A., and Edwards, A.M. 2024. A data synopsis for British Columbia groundfish: 2022 data update. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3624: viii + 267 p. (PDF)
2023: Anderson, S.C., P.A. English, J.C. Dunic. In State of the physical, biological and selected fishery resources of Pacific Canadian marine ecosystems in 2022. Edited by Boldt, J.L., Joyce, E., Tucker, S., and Gauthier, S. (Eds.). Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3482. pp. 141–149. (PDF)
2023: ICES. Workshop on Unavoidable Survey Effort Reduction 2 (WKUSER2). ICES Scientific Report, 5(13). https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.22086845.v1. Co-lead author of chapter “TOR III. Modeling and simulations: Further develop model performance evaluation through simulations, use of auxiliary information to improve survey data products, including appropriate propagation of uncertainty”.
2022: Anderson, S.C., P.A. English. In State of the physical, biological and selected fishery resources of Pacific Canadian marine ecosystems in 2021. Edited by Boldt, J.L., Joyce, E., Tucker, S., and Gauthier, S. (Eds.). Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3542. pp. 112–120. (PDF)
2021: Anderson, S.C., B.M. Connors, P.A. English, R.E. Forrest, R. Haigh, K.R. Holt. Trends in Pacific Canadian groundfish stock status. In State of the physical, biological and selected fishery resources of Pacific Canadian marine ecosystems in 2020. Edited by J.L. Boldt, A. Javorski, and P.C. Chandler. pp. 127–133. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3434. (PDF)
2020: English, P.A., Anderson, S.C., and Workman, G.D. A review of groundfish surveys in 2019. In State of the physical, biological and selected fishery resources of Pacific Canadian marine ecosystems in 2019. Edited by J.L. Boldt, A. Javorski, and P.C. Chandler. pp. 102–106. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3377. (PDF)
2019: Anderson, S.C., and Workman, G.D. A review of groundfish surveys in 2018 and an introduction to the groundfish data synopsis report. In State of the physical, biological and selected fishery resources of Pacific Canadian marine ecosystems in 2018. Edited by J.L. Boldt, J. Leonard, and P.C. Chandler. pp. 90–94. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3314. (PDF)
2018: Edwards, A.M., Duplisea, D.E., Grinnell, M.H., Anderson, S.C., Grandin, C.J., Ricard, D., Keppel, E.A., Anderson, E.D., Baker, K.D., Benoit, H.P., Cleary, J.S., Connors, B.M., Desgagnes, M., English, P.A., Fishman, D.F., Freshwater, C., Hedges, K.J., Holt, C.A., Holt, K.R., Kronlund, R., Mariscak, A., Obradovich, S.G., Patten, B.A., Rogers, B., Rooper, C.N., Simpson, M.R., Surette, T.J., Tallman, R.F., Wheeland, L.J., Wor, C., and Zhu, X. 2018. Proceedings of the Technical Expertise in Stock Assessment (TESA) national workshop on “Tools for transparent, traceable, and transferable assessments” 27–30 November 2018 in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3290, Nanaimo, BC. (PDF)

Awards

2019: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Stevenson Lectureship. A “lectureship conferred upon a young, energetic and creative researcher at the cutting edge of an aquatic discipline”
2017: Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution (CSEE) Early Career Award
2015: David H. Smith Conservation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
2015: Simon Fraser University Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal
2012–13: Canadian Fulbright Scholar award to the University of Washington
2011: Canadian Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal for the top-ranked Master’s Natural Sciences and Engineering thesis at Dalhousie University in 2010