“The Contributions and Conservation of Insect Pollinators in Ireland”
Research Background
I graduated from Wheaton College (Massachusetts, USA) with a B.A. in Environmental Science, Biology concentration in 2015.
From 2014-2017, I traveled around the United States to work with native insect pollinators as a research assistant and community outreach facilitator on five different conservation-focused research projects. In 2016, while working at Archbold Biological Station in Florida, USA, I conducted an independent study entitled, “The multi-scaled habitat preferences of the Blue Calamintha Bee.”
From 2017-2022, I conducted PhD research at the School of Agriculture & Food Science at University College Dublin, Ireland. I studied the contributions and conservation of Ireland’s insect pollinators. My research was funded by the Irish Research Council, in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency Ireland, and the Eva Crane Trust.
Research Interests
Contributions of insect pollinators to the pollination of native plants and crops
Interactions between managed and wild pollinators
Wild, native pollinator conservation
Doctoral Research
Crop Pollination
Assessing the contributions of wild and managed insect pollinators (i.e. honeybees, bumblebees, solitary bees, and hoverflies) to apple and bean pollination, as well as assigning an economic value to these contributions
Public Perceptions
Investigating the public perceptions of pollinators, pollinator importance, and pollinator conservation in order to identify knowledge gaps and potential target audiences to improve public engagement initiatives for the future
Wild & Managed Bees
Exploring possible interactions, and potential competition for food resources, between wild bumblebees and managed honeybees on heather in protected semi-natural areas
Publications
Burns, K.L.W. & Stanley, D.A. (2023) Irish faba beans (Fabales: Fabaceae) depend on wild bumblebee pollination for marketable yields. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 1– 11. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12553
Rundlöf, M., Stuligross, C., Lindh, A., Malfi, R.L., Burns, K., Mola, J.M., Cibotti, S. and Williams, N.M. (2022) Flower plantings support wild bee reproduction and may also mitigate pesticide exposure effects. Journal of Applied Ecology. Accepted Author Manuscript. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14223
Burns, K.L.W & Stanley, D.A. (2022) The importance and value of insect pollination to apples: A regional case study of key cultivars. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2022.107911
Allen-Perkins, A., Magrach, A., Dainese, M., Garibaldi, L.A., Kleijn, D., Rader, R., Reilly, J.R., et al. 2022. CropPol: A Dynamic, Open and Global Database on Crop Pollination. Ecology 103( 3): e3614. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3614
Burns, K.L.W, Fitzpatrick, U., & Stanley, D.A. (2021) Public perceptions of Ireland’s pollinators: A case for more inclusive pollinator conservation initiatives. Journal for Nature Conservation, 61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2021.125999
Burns, K. L., Deyrup, M. A., & Menges, E. S. (2019). The Blue Calamintha Bee: Habitat preferences of a narrow endemic. Florida Scientist, 82(2-3), 73-81.
The Joyful Ecologist 