After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, Dr. Anderson accepted a position as a Friday Harbor Laboratories Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Washington.  During this time he examined the relative importance of current flow and habitat structure on recruitment success of the copper rockfish, Sebastes caurinus, in the San Juan Islands.  In 1997, he accepted a position at Oregon State University, working with  Dr. Mark Hixon (and Dr. Mark Carr, University of California, Santa Cruz) concerning esearch on the population ecology of coral-reef fishes in the central Bahamas.  In 1999, he accepted a position at San Diego State University and is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology.

Dr. Anderson's interests continue to focus on the population ecology and assemblage structure of coastal fishes, particularly reef fishes.  The majority of his field work employs diving-related research using experimental approaches to ask questions of general ecological interest.  Currently, his specific research interests include habitat-dependent recruitment of reef fishes and the role of physiological performance in patterns of mortality of fishes.

In the little free time Dr. Anderson has available, he enjoys brewing all-grain beers and exploring San Diego and southern California.