Anderson, Elizabeth
- Associate Professor, Earth and Environment , College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Overview
overview
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Elizabeth Anderson is a freshwater conservation ecologist based at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, FL, where she is Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth & Environment. Her work has a strong conservation focus and involves collaborations with other scientists and those in key water resource management roles. Her research has been supported by the MacArthur Foundation, the Tinker Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and National Geographic. Dr. Anderson received both undergraduate and PhD (Ecology) degrees from the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, GA, USA. She has since worked for the Organization for Tropical Stdies as coordinator of international research and study programs for U.S. and Costa Rican students at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica; and as Conservation Sustainability Director at The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, USA. At Florida International University, she worked with the USAID-funded Global Water for Sustainability Program to support pilot projects for integrated water resources management in South America, East Africa and India, and later was Program Officer for East Africa programs. Between 2013-2016, Dr. Anderson served as the Director of International Research Programs in the School of Environment, Arts and Society at Florida International University. In this post, she built partnership programs with diverse collaborators-other universities, government institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector-for conservation of globally important landscapes in the Andean Amazon and East Africa regions.
Dr. Anderson is a three-time recipient of a Fulbright from the U.S. Department of State, including a Fulbright Research Award to Costa Rica in 2001; a Fulbright Scholar Award to Peru in 2014; and a Fulbright Specialist Award to Colombia in 2015.
research interests
- Her research explores the natural history of tropical freshwaters of Central America, the Andean Amazon, and East Africa, and the effects of human activities on these ecosystems.
Scholarly & Creative Works
selected publications
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Article
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2022Biotic Indicators for Ecological State Change in Amazonian FloodplainsFull Text via DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biac038 Web of Science: 000814273400001
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2022River rhythmicity: A conceptual means of understanding and leveraging the relational values of riversFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10335 Web of Science: 000794137500001
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2022Reducing adverse impacts of Amazon hydropower expansionFull Text via DOI: 10.1126/science.abj4017 Web of Science: 000758142600043
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2022Proactively averting the collapse of Amazon fisheries based on three migratory flagship speciesFull Text via DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264490 Web of Science: 000787073100051
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2021Hydropower development in the Republic of Georgia and implications for freshwater biodiversity conservationFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109359 Web of Science: 000719385700002
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2021Classifying flow regimes of the Amazon basinFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/aqc.3582 Web of Science: 000640083600001
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2021Conservation of migratory fishes in the Amazon basinFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/aqc.3550 Web of Science: 000630750300001
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2020NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the NeotropicsFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3115 Web of Science: 000588387700022
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2020Thinking like a consumer: Linking aquatic basal metabolism and consumer dynamicsFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/lol2.10172 Web of Science: 000590855600001
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2020The combined effects of climate change and river fragmentation on the distribution of Andean Amazon fishesFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15285 Web of Science: 000558398800001
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2020Governance of Payments for Ecosystem Ecosystem services influences social and environmental outcomes in Costa RicaFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106659 Web of Science: 000535905400005
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2020An analysis of river fragmentation by dams and river dewatering in Costa RicaFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/rra.3678 Web of Science: 000550806600001
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2019Energy development reveals blind spots for ecosystem conservation in the Amazon BasinFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/fee.2114 Web of Science: 000491198700001
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2019Assessing conservation priorities of endemic freshwater fishes in the Tropical Andes regionFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/aqc.2971 Web of Science: 000475822100010
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2018Fragmentation of Andes-to-Amazon connectivity by hydropower damsFull Text via DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao1642 Web of Science: 000426694200025
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2017Facilitating public participation in water resources management: reflections from TanzaniaFull Text via DOI: 10.5751/ES-09739-220426 Web of Science: 000419351000029
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2016An examination of factors affecting sustainability of domestic rainwater harvesting systems in a rural, semi-arid region of MexicoFull Text via DOI: 10.2166/ws.2016.066 Web of Science: 000386701800023
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2016Towards catchment classification in data-scarce regionsFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/eco.1721 Web of Science: 000390021700008
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20162015 Snapshot of Water Security in the Nile, Mekong, and Amazon River BasinsFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/lob.10085
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2015New perspectives on an iconic landscape from comparative international long-term ecological researchFull Text via DOI: 10.1890/ES14-00388.1 Web of Science: 000364024300010
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2011A Regional Perspective on the Diversity and Conservation of Tropical Andean FishesFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01568.x Web of Science: 000286380500005
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2009Effects of rainwater-harvesting-induced artificial recharge on the groundwater of wells in Rajasthan, IndiaFull Text via DOI: 10.1007/s10040-009-0491-6 Web of Science: 000271980400018
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2006Transforming tropical rivers: an environmental perspective on hydropower development in Costa RicaFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/aqc.806 Web of Science: 000242291700003
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Book Chapter
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2007Effects of globalization on freshwater systems and strategies for conservation. 75-91.Full Text via DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511542183.007
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Conference
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2018Efficiently Approximating the Pareto Frontier: Hydropower Dam Placement in the Amazon Basin. 849-858.Web of Science: 000485488900104
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Letter
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2016Cultural costs of tropical dams. 159-159.Full Text via DOI: 10.1126/science.352.6282.159 Web of Science: 000373681600031
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2013Returning to the Colombian Amazon. 692-693.Full Text via DOI: 10.1126/science.342.6159.692-b Web of Science: 000326647600020
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Preprint
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Review
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2021Potential ecological and socio-economic effects of a novel megaherbivore introduction: the hippopotamus in Colombia. 105-113.Full Text via DOI: 10.1017/S0030605318001588 Web of Science: 000607226800013
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2020River fragmentation and flow alteration metrics: a review of methods and directions for future researchFull Text via DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/abcb37 Web of Science: 000598693500001
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2020Faunal biodiversity research in the Republic of Georgia: a short review of trends, gaps, and needs in the Caucasus biodiversity hotspot. 1385-1397.Full Text via DOI: 10.2478/s11756-019-00398-6 Web of Science: 000562924000016
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2019Conserving Rivers and Their Biodiversity in TanzaniaFull Text via DOI: 10.3390/w11122612 Web of Science: 000507378600184
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2019Understanding rivers and their social relations: A critical step to advance environmental water managementFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/wat2.1381 Web of Science: 000492003000006
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2019A global perspective on tropical montane rivers. 1124-1129.Full Text via DOI: 10.1126/science.aax1682 Web of Science: 000485780800039
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2008Quantifying the extent of river fragmentation by hydropower dams in the Sarapiqui River Basin, Costa Rica. 408-417.Full Text via DOI: 10.1002/aqc.882 Web of Science: 000257334200004
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Works By Students
chaired theses and dissertations
Research
principal investigator on
- Global Telecoupling of Amazon Freshwater Resources 2021 - 2022
- Wildlife Conservation Society Graduate Fellowship awarded by Wildlife Conservation Society 2021 - 2022
- Rios Vivos Andinos awarded by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Found 2017 - 2022
- Social Equity and Freshwater Conservation: A Case Study of the Chicago Region awarded by David H. Smith Conservation Research Fel 2021 - 2022
- Fairchild Fellowship awarded by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden 2020 - 2022
- Miami River Project awarded by Fernandez Pave the Way Foundation 2021 - 2022
- A Climate Mobility Framework for Evaluating Equity Outcomes in Climate Resilience Decision Making awarded by National Science Foundation 2021 - 2022
- Resilience for Whom: A Climate Mobility Framework for Equitable Sea Level Rise Adaptation awarded by TBD - To Be Determined 2021 - 2022
- Identifying Freshwater Conservation Targets and Monitoring Freshwater Systems in the Amazon Basin awarded by Wildlife Conservation Society 2020 - 2022
- Piloting Low Cost Remote Sensors for Sustainable Water Management in the Andes awarded by Tinker Foundation Inc. 2016 - 2021
- REU Site Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Conservation Science at Zoo Miami awarded by Zoo Miami Foundation 2021
- Development of a Citizen Science Water Sensor Network in the Amazon awarded by Wildlife Conservation Society 2017 - 2019
- Catchment-scale management for ecosystem, health, economic, and cultural benefits in the lower Mara River Basin: The Serengeti Lake Victoria (SELVA) Sustainable Water Initiative awarded by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Found 2015 - 2018
- Introduced Hippos in Colombia: Consequences for Human and Natural Systems. awarded by National Geographic Society 2017
- Strengthening local capacity for prioritizing conservation strategies in the Colombian Andean-Amazon: A basin-scale approach awarded by US Agency for International Development 2012 - 2015
- Sustainability Report 2012: Sustainability Report: Perspectives on Central America awarded by Inter-American Development Bank 2012 - 2013
co-principal investigator on
- Tropical Conservation Institute awarded by Batchelor Foundation Inc. 2014 - 2022
- USAID -Leadership Training-Amour Seleman awarded by US Agency for International Development 2010 - 2012
- USAID -Leadership Training-Juliana J. Msaghaa awarded by US Agency for International Development 2010 - 2012
Contact
full name
- Elizabeth Anderson
Identifiers
ORCID iD
- https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4641-5810 (confirmed)
visualizations
publication subject areas
Citation index-derived subject areas the researcher has published in