The University of Western Australia

Asst/Prof Lori Lach

Research Assistant Professor
School of Plant Biology

Contact details

Address

School of Plant Biology
The University of Western Australia (M090)
35 Stirling Highway
CRAWLEY WA 6009
Australia

Phone

6488 4565

Fax

6488 7461

Email

lori.lach@uwa.edu.au

Location

Room G18, Botany and Biology Building, Crawley campus

Qualifications

BA Boston, MPH Calif., PhD Cornell

Biography

I did my Ph.D. research in Hawai'i and South Africa investigating the attraction of invasive ants to floral nectar and its consequences for floral arthropod visitors. Upon completion, I was awarded an NSF International Post-Doc fellowship to explore the role of invasive ants in plant conservation in Mauritius, after which I moved to Australia to research the effects of invasive ants on native ant-plant interactions with Richard Hobbs.

Key research

I am a community ecologist with interests in plant-insect interactions, invasive species, ants, conservation biology, and restoration ecology. I use primarily field-based experimental approaches.

Publications

Books:

- Lach, Lori, Catherine L. Parr & Kirsti L. Abbott (eds.) (2010) Ant Ecology. Oxford University Press. This is an edited volume consisting of 16 chapters and 21 text boxes, all of which were peer-reviewed. ISBN:978-0-19-954463-9

Journal Articles:

- Lach, L. & Hoffmann, B.D. (2011) Are invasive ants better plant-defense mutualists? A comparison of foliage patrolling and herbivory in sites with invasive yellow crazy ants and native weaver ants. Oikos 120(1):9-16. DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18803.x
- Lach, Lori, Chadwick V. Tillberg & Andrew V. Suarez (2010) Contrasting effects of an invasive ant on a native and an invasive plant. Biological Invasions 12(9):3123-3133. DOI:10.1007/s10530-010-9703-1
- Lach, Lori, Richard J. Hobbs & Jonathan D. Majer (2009) Herbivory-induced extrafloral nectar increases survival of invasive and native ant workers. Population Ecology 51(2):237-243. DOI:10.1007/s10144-008-0132-2
- Lach, Lori & Melissa Thomas (2008) Invasive ants in Australia: Documented and potential ecological consequences. Australian Journal of Entomology 47(4):275-288. DOI:10.1111/j.1440-6055.2008.00659.x
- Lach, Lori (2008) Floral visitation patterns of two invasive ant species and their effects on other hymenopteran visitors. Ecological Entomology 33(1):155-160. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2311.2007.00969.x
- Lach, Lori (2008) Argentine ants displace floral arthropods in a biodiversity hotspot. Diversity and Distributions 14(2):281-290. DOI:10.1111/j.1472-4642.2007.00410.x
- Lach, Lori (2007) A mutualism with a native membracid facilitates pollinator displacement by Argentine ants. Ecology 88(8):1994-2004 (cover article). Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27651331
- Lach, Lori (2005) Exploitation and interference competition in the nectar-thieving behavior of three invasive ant species. Insectes Sociaux 52:257-262.
- Lach, Lori (2003) Invasive ants: Unwanted partners in ant-plant interactions? Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 90(1):91-108. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3298529
Holway, David A., Lori Lach, Andrew V. Suarez, Neil D. Tsutsui & Ted J. Case (2002) The causes and consequences of ant invasions. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 33:181-233. DOI:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.33.010802.150444
- Pimentel, David, Lori Lach, Rudolfo Zuniga, and Doug Morrison (2000) Environmental and economic impacts of non-indigenous species in the United States. BioScience 50(1):53-65. DOI: 10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0053:EAECON]2.3.CO;2
- Lach, Lori, David. K. Britton, Rebecca J. Rundell & Robert. H. Cowie (2000) Food preference and reproductive plasticity in an invasive freshwater snail. Biological Invasions 2(4):279-288. DOI:10.1023/A:1011461029986
- Lach, Lori & Robert H. Cowie (1999) The spread of Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck) (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae), an introduced freshwater apple snail, on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 58:66-71.
- Wang, H.H., T. Myers, L. Lach, C. Hsieh & M.E. Kadin (1999) Increased risk of lymphoid and non-lymphoid malignancies in patients with Lymphomatoid Papulosis. Cancer. 86(7):1240-1245. DOI:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0142(19991001)86:7<1240::AID-CNCR19>3.0.CO;2-X
- Wang, Helen H., Lori Lach & Marshall E. Kadin (1992) Epidemiology of Lymphomatoid Papulosis. Cancer. 70(12):2951-2957. DOI:10.1002/1097-0142(19921215)70:12<2951::AID-CNCR2820701236>3.0.CO;2-7

Book Chapters:

- Lach, Lori, Catherine L. Parr & Kirsti Abbott (2010) Synthesis and perspectives. In Ant Ecology (eds. L Lach, CL Parr & K Abbott). Oxford University Press. ISBN:978-0-19-954463-9
- Lach, Lori & Linda Hooper-Bùi. (2010) Consequences of ant invasions. In Ant Ecology (eds. L Lach, CL Parr & K Abbott). Oxford University Press. ISBN:978-0-19-954463-9
- Joshua Ness, Kailen Mooney & Lori Lach. (2010) Ants as mutualists. In Ant Ecology (eds. L Lach, CL Parr & K Abbott). Oxford University Press. ISBN:978-0-19-954463-9
- Pimentel, David, Lori Lach, Rudolfo Zuniga & Doug Morrison (2002) Environmental and economic costs of alien arthropods and other organisms in the United States. In G.J. Hallman and C.P. Schwalbe (eds.) Invasive Arthropods in Agriculture: Problems and Solutions. Science Publishers, Inc., Plymouth, U.K., pp. 107-117. ISBN-13: 978-1578081721
- Lach, Lori, Mike D. Picker, Jonathan Colville, Mike Allsopp & Charles Griffith (2002) Alien invertebrates in South Africa. In D. Pimentel (ed.) Environmental and Economic Costs of Alien Plant, Animal, and Microbe Invasions. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, pp. 267-284.

Other Publications:

- Lach, Lori (2001) Losses from Aquatic Weeds. In D. Pimentel (ed.) Encyclopedia of Pest Management. Marcel Dekker, New York. ISBN:0-8247-0632-3
- Lach, Lori (2000) Decision-making tools for the management of invasive species: risk analysis and economic considerations. Proceedings of the Best Management Practices for the Prevention and Control of Invasive Alien Species Workshop, February 2000. Working for Water, Cape Town, South Africa.

Research profile

Research profile and publications