Dr Tara Dirilgen

Biology, Human Health Institute

Lecturer/Assistant Professor
Environmental Biology and Sustainability

F2
Callan Building
(01) 474 7261

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]
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2024) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

Professional Associations

Description Function From / To
All Ireland Climate and Biodiversity Research Network Member -
Irish Soil Biodiversity Research Network (ISBRN) Founder -
UCD Earth Institute Affiliate Member -
Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative Member -
Soil Biodiversity Observation Network (BON) Member -
Soil BON Foodweb co-National Coordinator for Ireland -
Environmental Sciences Association of Ireland Member -
British Ecological Association Member -
Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland Member -
International Society of Root Research Member -
Irish Ecological Association Member -
Soil Science Society of Ireland Member -
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation Member -
Irish Pollinator Research Network Member -
Society for Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary biology Member -

Honors and Awards

Date Title Awarding Body
09/12/2020 Thomas Mitchell Medal of Excellence GOI Irish Research Council

Committees

Committee Function From / To
Soil Science Society of Ireland Member -
Irish Ecological Association Ordinary member -
Sustainable Ecosystems Group, Department of Biology Member -
All Ireland Climate and Biodiversity Research Network Executive Group Executive Group member -

Employment

Employer Position From / To
Maynooth University Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Environmental Biology and Sustainability 11/09/2023 -
University College Dublin, School of Agriculture Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Applied Entomology 01/10/2022 - 01/08/2023
University College Dublin, School of Agriculture Postdoctoral researcher | GOI Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship 01/01/2021 - 01/10/2022
University College Dublin, School of Agriculture SFI Postdoctoral Researcher | SUSPOLL (Sustainable Pollination Services in a Changing World) project 01/07/2020 - 01/01/2021
University College Dublin, School of Agriculture Research Asssistant | SFI SUSPOLL (Sustainable Pollination Services in a Changing World) project 01/02/2019 - 01/07/2020
University College Dublin, School of Biology & Environmental Science Academic Manager | MSc Environmental Sustainability 01/08/2018 - 01/12/2018

Education

Start date Institution Qualification Subject
University College Dublin, School of Biology & Environmental Science PhD Ecology
University College Dublin, School of Biology & Environmental Science BSc Zoology

Languages

Language Reading Writing Speaking
Turkish Fluent Fluent Fluent
English Fluent Fluent Fluent

Editorial / Academic Reviews

Amount Role From / To
Insect Conservation & Diversity Reviewer -
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment Reviewer -

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 University

Undergraduate

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