Research interests:

1. The role of plant-animal mutualisms in the pollination and seed dispersal of the NZ flora . I am interested in the importance of mutualistic interactions to maintaining native ecosystems. The implication of both local and national declines in the suite of native pollinators and seed dispersers in New Zealand have been only briefly considered, and the pollination and seed dispersal requirements of many native plants are still poorly understood. In addition the introduction and naturalisation of a range of bird and insect species, as well as flowering and fruiting plants, has altered the original pattern of these interactions. My research aims to identify mutualisms between the native flora and fauna, and to assess the impact of changes in these on ecosystem function. The research objective is to enable us to predict vulnerability in mutualistic interactions, so that management of native biodiversity can be optimised.
2. Population dynamics and dispersal of individuals in a new environment. Understanding the behaviour and population dynamics of both native and alien animals introduced to a new system is critical to biodiversity conservation in New Zealand. I have been involved in research investigating the population dynamics of translocated NZ saddleback from a single source population to a range of sites, as well as projects investigating the behaviour and dispersal of alien mammals invading new islands.
3. The use of palynology to describe vegetation succession and environmental processes in estuarine wetlands. I have been involved in research applying palynology in estuarine systems to correlate present vegetation patterns in space with successional sequences in time, and to measure the response of vegetation to past environmental factors such as human arrival in New Zealand

Recent Publications:

• Anderson, S. H., Kelly, D., Robertson, A. W., Ladley, J. (2007). Widespread failure of bird pollination mutualisms on the New Zealand mainland. New Zealand Journal of Botany 45: 291
• Kelly, D., Robertson, A., Ladley, J., Anderson, S. & McKenzie, R. (2006). The relative (un)importance of introduced animals as pollinators and dispersers of native plants. In Biological Invasions in New Zealand (ed. R. B. Allen & W. G. Lee). Springer, Berlin.
• Anderson, S. H., Kelly, D., Robertson, A. W., Ladley, J. & Innes, J. (2006). Birds as pollinators and dispersers: a case study from New Zealand. Acta Zoologica Sinica (52): 112-115
• Buckley Y. M., Anderson S., Catterall C.P., Corlett R.T., Engel T., Gosper C.R., Nathan R., Richardson D.M., Setter M, Spiegel O., Vivian-Smith G., Voigt F.A., Weir J.E.S., Westcott D.A. (2006) Management of plant invasions mediated by frugivore interactions. Journal of Applied Ecology 43:848-857
• Anderson, S. ., Heiss-Dunlop S., Flohr, J. (2006). A moving feast: the influence of landscape context on bird-mediated seed rain into conservation areas. Fifteenth Australian Weeds Conference Papers and Proceedings (ed. C. Preston, J.H. Watts and N.D. Crossman)
• Deng Y., Horrocks M., Ogden J., Anderson S. (2006). Modern pollen-vegetation relationships along transects on the Whangapoua Estuary, Great Barrier Island, northern New Zealand. Journal of Biogeography pp17
• Deng Y., Ogden J., Horrocks M., Anderson S. (2006) Application of palynology to describe vegetation succession in estuarine wetlands on Great Barrier Island, northern New Zealand. Journal of Vegetation Science 17
• Ogden, J., Deng, Y., Horrocks, M., Nichol, S., Anderson, S. (2006). Sequential impacts of Polynesian and European settlement on vegetation and environmental processes recorded in sediments at Whangapoua Estuary , Great Barrier Island, New Zealalnd. Regional Environmental Change pp16
• Lambert, D. M. ; King, T. ; Shepherd, L. D.; Livingston, A. ; Anderson, S.; Craig, J. L. (2005). Serial population bottlenecks and genetic variation: Translocated populations of the New Zealand Saddleback (Philesturnus carunculatus rufusater) Conservation Genetics 6(1) 1-14.
• Russell, J., Towns, D., Anderson S., Clout, M. (2005). Intercepting the first rat ashore. Nature 437 (20) 1107
• Deng, Y., Ogden, J., Horrocks, M., Anderson, S. & Nichol, S.L. (2004). The vegetation sequence at Whangapoua Estuary, Great Barrier Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 42:565-588
• Spurr, E. and Anderson, S. (2004). Bird species diversity and abundance before and after eradication of possums and wallabies on Rangitoto Island, Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 28(1): 143-149
• Anderson, S. H. (2003). The relative importance of birds and insects as pollinators of the New Zealand flora. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 27 (2): 83-94
• Anderson, S. H., Craig, J.L. (2003). Breeding biology of bellbirds on TiritiriMatangi Island. Notornis 50: 75-82
• Anderson, S. H. (2003). Sightings of North Island tomit (Petroica macrocephala toitoi) on Rangitoto Island, Hauraki Gulf, Auckland. Notornis 50:115-116
• Anderson, S. H., Ogden, J. (2003). The bird community of Kaitoke wetland, Great Barrier Island. Notornis 50: 201-209
• Kelly, D., Robertson, A., Ladley, J., Anderson, S., & Mckenzie, R. (2003). Is interdependence of native fauna and flora an issue for future survival of native plants? Canterbury Botanical Society 37: 88-98