Dr Tara Dirilgen
Biology, Human Health Institute
Biography
Tara is an ecologist with interests spanning many areas which centre around biodiversity.
Upcoming projects:
Watch this space for research on soil-plant-pollinator interactions under multiple, interacting, global change pressures.
Past projects:
From Roots to Pollinators: How above- and below-ground organisms interact through
Plants (IRC, lead PD)
Relationships between functional diversity and food production and
quality under ecological intensification (EPA, Biodiversa, project
contributor)
Climate change and its effects on Pollination Services (FNRS/FWO, project contributor)
Sustainable Pollination Services in a Changing world (SFI, project PD)
Soil Microarthropod Community Assembly And Their Value As Indicators Of Soil Biodiversity (EC, EcoFINDERS, lead PG)
Twitter: @taradirilgen
Google scholar
Join the Terrestrial Ecology Lab
Postdoctoral Researchers
Reach out to me if you are interested in pursuing support for collaborative projects.
Some options include:
Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship
Prospective Graduate Students
Contact me to discuss potential opportunities for pursuing an MSc or PhD.
Research Interests
Community ecology, Terrestrial biodiversity (above and belowground), Soil-Plant-Pollinator interactions, Global change, Sustainability
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Bucher, R.; Batáry, P.; Baudry, J.; Beaumelle, L.; Čerevková, A.; de la Riva, E.G.; Dirilgen, T.; Gallé, R.; Kesse-Guyot, E.; Rembiałkowska, E.; Rusch, A.; Stanley, D.A.; Ulrich, W.; Birkhofer, K. (2024) 'Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid control but did not increase crop yields on European farms'. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2022 | Karbassioon, A; Yearlsey, J; Dirilgen, T; Hodge, S; Stout, JC; Stanley, DA (2022) 'Responses in honeybee and bumblebee activity to changes in weather conditions'. Oecologia, 201 (3). [DOI] | |
| 2018 | Dirilgen, T.; Juceviča, E.; Melecis, V.; Querner, P.; Bolger, T. (2018) 'Analysis of spatial patterns informs community assembly and sampling requirements for Collembola in forest soils'. Acta Oecologica, 86 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2016 | Griffiths, B.S.; Römbke, J.; Schmelz, R.M.; Scheffczyk, A.; Faber, J.H.; Bloem, J.; Pérès, G.; Cluzeau, D.; Chabbi, A.; Suhadolc, M.; Sousa, J.P.; Martins Da Silva, P.; Carvalho, F.; Mendes, S.; Morais, P.; Francisco, R.; Pereira, C.; Bonkowski, M.; Geisen, S.; Bardgett, R.D.; De Vries, F.T.; Bolger, T.; Dirilgen, T.; Schmidt, O.; Winding, A.; Hendriksen, N.B.; Johansen, A.; Philippot, L.; Plassart, P.; Bru, D.; Thomson, B.; Griffiths, R.I.; Bailey, M.J.; Keith, A.; Rutgers, M.; Mulder, C.; Hannula, S.E.; Creamer, R.; Stone, D. (2016) 'Selecting cost effective and policy-relevant biological indicators for European monitoring of soil biodiversity and ecosystem function'. Ecological Indicators, 69 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2016 | Creamer, R.E.; Hannula, S.E.; Leeuwen, J.P.V.; Stone, D.; Rutgers, M.; Schmelz, R.M.; Ruiter, P.C.d.; Hendriksen, N.B.; Bolger, T.; Bouffaud, M.L.; Buee, M.; Carvalho, F.; Costa, D.; Dirilgen, T.; Francisco, R.; Griffiths, B.S.; Griffiths, R.; Martin, F.; Silva, P.M.d.; Mendes, S.; Morais, P.V.; Pereira, C.; Philippot, L.; Plassart, P.; Redecker, D.; Römbke, J.; Sousa, J.P.; Wouterse, M.; Lemanceau, P. (2016) 'Ecological network analysis reveals the inter-connection between soil biodiversity and ecosystem function as affected by land use across Europe'. Applied Soil Ecology, 97 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2016 | Dirilgen, T.; Arroyo, J.; Dimmers, W.J.; Faber, J.; Stone, D.; Martins da Silva, P.; Carvalho, F.; Schmelz, R.; Griffiths, B.S.; Francisco, R.; Creamer, R.E.; Sousa, J.P.; Bolger, T. (2016) 'Mite community composition across a European transect and its relationships to variation in other components of soil biodiversity'. Applied Soil Ecology, 97 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2016 | Martins da Silva, P.; Carvalho, F.; Dirilgen, T.; Stone, D.; Creamer, R.; Bolger, T.; Sousa, J.P. (2016) 'Traits of collembolan life-form indicate land use types and soil properties across an European transect'. Applied Soil Ecology, 97 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Mangan, R.; Dirilgen, T.; Baars, J.R. (2015) 'Responses of adult Hydrellia lagarosiphon to a revised diet: Implications for life cycle studies and laboratory culturing techniques'. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 157 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2023 | Leclercq, N; Marshall, L; Weekers, T; Basu, P; Benda, D; Bevk, D; Bhattacharya, R; Bogusch, P; Bontšutšnaja, A; Bortolotti, L; Cabirol, N; Calderón-Uraga, E; Carvalho, R; Castro, S; Chatterjee, S; De La Cruz Alquicira, M; de Miranda, JR; Dirilgen, T; Dorchin, A; Dorji, K; Drepper, B; Flaminio, S; Gailis, J; Galloni, M; Gaspar, H; Gikungu, MW; Hatteland, BA; Hinojosa-Diaz, I; Hostinská, L; Howlett, BG; Hung, KJ; Hutchinson, L; Jesus, RO; Karklina, N; Khan, MS; Loureiro, J; Men, X; Molenberg, JM; Mudri-Stojnić, S; Nikolic, P; Normandin, E; Osterman, J; Ouyang, F; Oygarden, AS; Ozolina-Pole, L; Ozols, N; Parra Saldivar, A; Paxton, RJ; Pitts-Singer, T; Poveda, K; Prendergast, K; Quaranta, M; Read, SFJ; Reinhardt, S; Rojas-Oropeza, M; Ruiz, C; Rundlöf, M; Sade, A; Sandberg, C; Sgolastra, F; Shah, SF; Shebl, MA; Soon, V; Stanley, DA; Straka, J; Theodorou, P; Tobajas, E; Vaca-Uribe, JL; Vera, A; Villagra, CA; Williams, MK; Wolowski, M; Wood, TJ; Yan, Z; Zhang, Q; Vereecken, NJ (2023) 'Global taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of bees in apple orchards'. The Science of the total environment, 901 . [DOI] |
Other Publication
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Dirilgen, T; Herbertsson, L; O'Reilly, AD; Mahon, N; Stanley, DA (2023) Moving past neonicotinoids and honeybees: A systematic review of existing research on other insecticides and bees. [DOI] | |
| 2020 | White, H.J.; León-Sánchez, L.; Burton, V.J.; Cameron, E.K.; Caruso, T.; Cunha, L.; Dirilgen, T.; Jurburg, S.D.; Kelly, R.; Kumaresan, D.; Ochoa-Hueso, R.; Ordonez, A.; Phillips, H.R.P.; Prieto, I.; Schmidt, O.; Caplat, P. (2020) Methods and approaches to advance soil macroecology. [Link] [DOI] |
Other Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Dirilgen, T,; Bolger, T. (2024) 'Soil microarthropod community assembly at the micro spatial scale - A microcosm manipulation study' bioRxiv, . [DOI] |
Professional Associations
Employment
Outreach Activities
| Organisation | Type | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Day for Biological Diversity 2021 | Civic Society | As part of UCD Earth Institute video series "What is biodiversity?" Target audience: primary school children, general public [Link] | |
| Soapbox Science | Civic Society | One of 12 women in STEM taking part in Soapbox Science Dublin, Ireland event on Dublin's South King street, standing on a soapbox, using 2 props, I spoke to the general public about my ongoing research “Do soil animals interact with bees through plants?” [Link] | |
| Rising Star Fellowship feature piece, UCD Institute for Discovery | Civic Society | [Link] | |
| Mooney Goes Wild radio piece as part of the Global Soil Biodiversity Conference coverage | Civic Society | ||
| “Ask a scientist” tent at Farming for Soil Health public event, Teagasc, Wexford | Civic Society |
Teaching Interests
Teaching interests include: Ecology, Entomology, Zoology, Animal behaviour, Insect-Plant interactions, Philosophy
Maynooth UniversityUndergraduate
BI207 Environmental Biology (2023-present) [Module Coordinator]
BI310 Animal Behavior (2023-present)
Past Courses (University College Dublin)
Undergraduate
AESC20050: Applied Zoology (2022-23) [Module Coordinator]
AESC30160: Agrichemicals and the Environment (2022-23) [Module Coordinator]
AESC30010: Pests, Parasites, Beneficials (2022-23) [Module Coordinator]
Guest lectures
Behaviour of Social Insects (2022) | Diploma | University of Galway
Multivariate Statistics (2016) | MSc | University College Dublin