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.
Ongoing 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)
Past projects:
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.
NUIM John & Pat Hume Doctoral Awards 2024-2025
Hume Fellow Scholarship, 4 years (full time, EU fees paid):€22,000 stipend + research allowance
Eligibility: First class or upper second-class honoursbachelor’s or Master’s degree, or the equivalent, in Biology (to encompass environmental biology and sustainability incl. zoology, botancy,etc). Open to all nationalities.
Closing deadline for applications: Tuesday 5 March2024 9am
https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/graduate-research-academy/john-pat-hume-doctoral-awards (important note: funding is available for a limited numberof projects across the University, award is not guaranteed)
Research Interests
Community ecology, Terrestrial biodiversity (above and belowground), Soil-Plant-Pollinator interactions, Global change, Sustainability
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 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] |
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