Rebecca Irwin

About

Rebecca Irwin is a Professor at North Carolina State University and serves as the Director of the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center within the Department of Applied Ecology. Her research focuses on the ecology and evolution of multiple-species interactions, pollination biology, and species invasions. Her lab investigates the complex web of interactions among biological communities, emphasizing the relative importance of direct and indirect effects of antagonists on plant-pollinator mutualisms. She explores how plant interactions with mutualists and antagonists simultaneously influence and constrain the evolution of nectar traits. Her work includes studying the impacts of environmental changes, such as seasonal snow cover, on solitary bee populations, and examining mechanisms and consequences of plant-pollinator-pathogen interactions. Dr. Irwin's research contributes to understanding the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of pollination systems and the effects of environmental stressors on pollinator health and plant reproduction.

Research topics

• Biology
• Ecology
• Botany
• Geography
• Horticulture
• Computer Science
• Environmental science
• Political Science
• Sociology
• Genetics

Selected publications

• Winters are changing: snow effects on Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems

  Arctic Science · 2022 · 159 citations

  Snow is an important driver of ecosystem processes in cold biomes. Snow accumulation determines ground temperature, light conditions, and moisture availability during winter. It also affects the growing season’s start and end, and plant access to moisture and nutrients. Here, we review the current knowledge of the snow cover’s role for vegetation, plant-animal interactions, permafrost conditions, microbial processes, and biogeochemical cycling. We also compare studies of natural snow gradients w…

  DOI

• Towards a U.S. national program for monitoring native bees

  Biological Conservation · 2020 · 112 citations

  DOI

• Floral traits affecting the transmission of beneficial and pathogenic pollinator-associated microbes

  Current Opinion in Insect Science · 2020 · 57 citations

  DOI

• Flowering plant composition shapes pathogen infection intensity and reproduction in bumble bee colonies

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2020 · 50 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Pathogens pose significant threats to pollinator health and food security. Pollinators can transmit diseases during foraging, but the consequences of plant species composition for infection is unknown. In agroecosystems, flowering strips or hedgerows are often used to augment pollinator habitat. We used canola as a focal crop in tents and manipulated flowering strip composition using plant species we had previously shown to result in higher or lower bee infection in short-term trials. We also ma…

  DOI

• The Evolutionary Ecology of Mutualisms in Urban Landscapes

  Oxford University Press eBooks · 2020 · 32 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Mutualisms are critically important in maintaining the biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems. Mutualisms include a diverse array of interactions that result in reciprocal positive effects for both partners, including plant–pollinator, plant–seed disperser, and plant–rhizobia interactions. There is growing recognition that global environmental change can affect the ecological outcomes of mutualisms, but less attention has been paid to how urbanization in particular affects their evo…

  DOI

Recent grants

• DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Microbial mediation of polliator performance

  NSF · $9k · 2013–2014

• Consumer-Resource Interactions: Impacts of a plant invasion on the individual and colony performance of a native pollinator

  NSF · $528k · 2009–2013

• Pollination Webs: Impacts of a Plant Invasion on Native Plant-Pollinator Interactions, Linkage Strength, and Native Plant Reproduction

  NSF · $394k · 2004–2009

Frequent coauthors

• Lynn S. Adler

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

  93 shared

• David W. Inouye

  University of Maryland, College Park

  48 shared

• Alison K. Brody

  University of Vermont

  46 shared

• Judith L. Bronstein

  University of Arizona

  38 shared

• Evan C. Palmer‐Young

  29 shared

• Sarah K. Richman

  ETH Zurich

  27 shared

• Gabriella L. Pardee

  The University of Texas at Austin

  22 shared

• Elinor M. Lichtenberg

  University of North Texas

  22 shared

Labs

• Applied EcologyPI

  Not provided

Similar researchers at North Carolina State University

• Rob Dunnh-94
• David Tarpyh-51
• Jaime Collazoh-40