During my undergrad in Environmental Science at the University of Bielefeld (Germany) I was lucky to do an internship in the Sinclair Lab (DAAD RISE fellowship). With a growing interest in insects and their cold tolerance I started my MSc in January 2013.

 In my Masters I am investigating the overwintering biology Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD, Drosophila suzukii), which is a significant agricultural pest because it can lay eggs in healthy fruit. SWD is originally from Southeast Asia and was introduced to Ontario in 2010. Its potential to establish in Ontario depends on its ability to survive the winter conditions. Using adults reared from colonies collected in Ontario and British Columbia I will study the cold tolerance and its plasticity over short and long timescales, as well as desiccation and starvation tolerance.  This will allow me to delimit the three main overwintering stresses and to determine whether SWD has the potential to establish as a significant agricultural pest in Ontario.