I completed my undergraduate degree in Zoology at the University of Guelph in 2008. I officially began my Masters here at Western in September 2008, but I have been working in the Sinclair lab since May, doing field work and preliminary lab work. My work will focus on the physiological mechanisms used by the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) to survive winter temperatures. The EAB is an invasive beetle from Asia that has the potential to devastate ash tree populations in North America. EAB spend the winter as prepupae in chambers under the bark of ash trees. I will be tracking changes in supercooling points and hemolymph contents such as polyhydric alcohols, sugars and antifreeze proteins throughout the winter. This will allow me to determine how cold tolerance changes throughout the winter. My data will be combined with temperature data obtained from data loggers installed on ash trees in several locations around Ontario to build a model that will help to determine if lower winter temperatures will limit the spread of EAB in North America.