LAUREN WALLER
Community and Ecosystem Ecologist
I am a community and ecosystem ecologist, interested in the complex interactions that occur among plants and their microbial symbionts and how global change agents affect these interactions. I gained my PhD from the University of Montana, USA, where I combined molecular and field data to understand interactions at the root-soil interface and how they affect broader scale community-level processes in temperate grasslands.
PUBLICATIONS
The Herbivory Variability Network (2023). Plant size, latitude, and phylogeny explain within-population variability in herbivory. Science, 382, 679-683.
Byers, A. K., Condron, L. M., O'Callaghan, M., Waller, L., Dickie, I. A., & Wakelin, S. A. (2023). Plant species identity and plant-induced changes in soil physicochemistry—but not plant phylogeny or functional traits-shape the assembly of the root-associated soil microbiome. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 99, fiad126.
Allen, W. J., Waller, L. P., Barratt, B. I., & Dickie, I. A. (2023). Puke or poop? Comparison of regurgitate and faecal samples to infer alpine grasshopper (Paprides nitidus Hutton) diet in experimental plant communities. Ecology and Evolution, 13, e10444.
Moukarzel, R., Ridgway, H. J., Waller, L., Guerin-Laguette, A., Cripps-Guazzone, N., & Jones, E. E. (2023). Soil arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities differentially affect growth and nutrient uptake by grapevine rootstocks. Microbial Ecology, 86, 1035-1049.
Waller, L. P., Sapsford, S. J., Thurston, A. M., & Black, A. (2022). Is provenance or phylogeny a better predictor of growth and survival of a soil pathogen in leaf litter? Forest Ecology and Management, 520, 120359.
Thurston, A. M., Waller, L., Condron, L., & Black, A. (2022). Sensitivity of the soil-borne pathogen Phytophthora agathidicida, the causal agent of kauri dieback, to the anti-oomycete fungicides ethaboxam, fluopicolide, mandipropamid, and oxathiapiprolin. New Zealand Plant Protection, 75, 14-18.
Allen, W. J., Bufford, J. L., Barnes, A. D., Barratt, B. I., Deslippe, J. R., Dickie, I. A., Goldson, S.L., Howlett, B.G., Hulme, P.E., Lavorel, S. and O’Brien, S. A., Waller, L. P. & Tylianakis, J. M. (2022). A network perspective for sustainable agroecosystems. Trends in Plant Science, 27, 769-780.
Allen, W. J., Waller, L. P., Barratt, B. I., Dickie, I. A., & Tylianakis, J. M. (2021). Exotic plants accumulate and share herbivores yet dominate communities via rapid growth. Nature Communications, 12, 2696.
Wakelin, S. A., Matson, A., Wigley, K., Waller, L., Dickie, I. A., Whitehead, D., & Garrett, L. (2021). High Maintenance of Rhizosphere Soil C and N Equilibrium Regardless of Plant Species or Species Traits. Frontiers in Soil Science, 1, 762510.
Waller, L.P., Allen, W., Barratt, B.I.P., Condron, L.M., Hunt, J., Orwin, K.H., Steele, G, Tylianakis, J.M., Wakelin, S. & Dickie, I.A. (2020). Biotic interactions drive ecosystem responses to exotic plant invaders. Science, 368, 967-972.
Allen, W., Wainer, R., Tylianakis, J., Barratt, B., Shadbolt, M-R., Waller, L., Dickie, I. (2020). Community-level direct and indirect impacts of an invasive plant favour exotic over native species. Journal of Ecology, 108, 2499-2510.
Pal, R., Maron, J., Nagy, D., Waller, L., Tosto, A., Liao, H., Callaway, R. (2020). What happens in Europe stays in Europe: apparent evolution by an invader does not help at home. Ecology, 101, e03072.
Sapsford, S.J. & Waller, L.P. (2020). Seeing the forest not just for its trees: exotic pathogens shift forest communities above and belowground. New Phytologist, 227, 283-285.
Waller, L.P., Hahn, P.G., Maron, J.L., and Lekberg, Y. (2018). Trait differences in responses to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are stronger and more consistent than fixed differences among populations of Asclepias speciosa. American Journal of Botany, 105, 207-214.
Waller, L.P., Felten, J., Hiiesalu, I., & Vogt-Schilb, H. (2018). Sharing resources for mutual benefit: crosstalk between disciplines deepens the understanding of mycorrhizal symbioses across scales. New Phytologist, 217, 29-32.
Dickie, I.A., Bufford, J.L., Cobb, R.C., Desprez-Loustau, M. -L., Grelet, G., Hulme, P.E., Klironomos, J., Makiola, A., Nuñez, M.A., Pringle, A., Thrall, P.T., Tourtellot, S.G., Waller, L.P., Williams, N.M. (2017). The emerging science of linked plant-fungal invasions. New Phytologist, 215, 1314-1332.
Lekberg, Y. & Waller, L.P. (2016). What drives differences in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities among plant species? Fungal Ecology, 24, 135-138.
Waller, L.P., Callaway, R.M., Klironomos, J.N., Ortega, Y., and Maron, J.M. (2016). Reduced mycorrhizal responsiveness and increased competitive ability in an exotic plant. Journal of Ecology, 104, 1599-1607.
Marshall, A., Waller, L.P., & Lekberg, Y. (2016). Cascading effects of fire retardant on plant–microbe interactions, community composition, and invasion. Ecological Applications, 26, 996-1002.
Hart, M., Aleklett, K., Chagnon, P-L., Egan, C., Ghignone, S., Helgason, T., Lekberg, Y., Opik, M., Pickles, B., and Waller, L. (2015). Navigating the labyrinth: a guide to sequence-based, community ecology of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. New Phytologist, 207, 235-247.
Maron, J.L., Waller, L.P., Hahn, M.A., Diaconu, A., Pal, R.W., Müller-Schärer, H., Klironomos, J., and Callaway, J.M. (2013). Effects of soil fungi, disturbance and propagule pressure on exotic plant recruitment and establishment at home and abroad. Journal of Ecology, 101, 924-932.
Maron, J.L., Klironomos, J., Waller, L.P., Callaway, J.M. (2013). Invasive plants escape from suppressive soil biota at regional scales. Journal of Ecology, 102, 19-27.
Ortega, Y.K., Pearson, D.E., Waller, L., Sturdevant, N.J., and Maron, J.L. (2012). Population-level compensation impedes biological control of an invasive forb and indirect release of a native grass. Ecology, 93, 783-792.
Callaway, R.M., Waller, L.P., Diaconu, A., Pal, R., Collins, A.R., Mueller-Schaerer, H., and Maron, J.L. (2011). Escape from competition: Neighbors reduce Centaurea stoebe performance at home but not away. Ecology, 92, 2208-2213.
IN THE MEDIA
EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in this amazing Curious Minds funded project based on spreading awareness about kauri dieback and kauri forest heath. Follow them on facebook
ECOS PROGRAM:
ECOLOGISTS, EDUCATORS AND SCHOOLS: PARTNERS IN GK-12 EDUCATION
ECOS is a partnership program for enhancing teaching skills of graduate students in the sciences and promoting hands-on science education in K-12 schools. We use the schoolyard and adjacent open areas in western Montana as outdoor laboratories for learning about the environment.
EDUCATION
2010 - 2015
PhD, Organismal Biology, Ecology and Evolution
University of Montana, Missoula, U.S.A.
Thesis: “Factors affecting plant responses to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil fungal communities”
2001 - 2004
Bachelor of Science, Honors, Biology, Plant Science
University of Montana, Missoula, U.S.A.
1993 - 1997
Bachelor of Arts, Communication
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, U.S.A.
CONTACT
Bioprotection Research Centre
Lincoln University
New Zealand
Tiakina Kauri | Kauri Protection
Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry of Primary Industries
New Zealand
+64 0274406790
