Overwintering of emerald ash borer

翡翠白蜡虫(EAB)是大约10年前从亚洲引进的一种入侵的钻树皮甲虫。EAB侵染了所有种类的灰烬，不可避免地导致了树木的死亡，已经杀死了安大略省西南部的大量树木，并威胁到该省估计有10亿棵树。这不仅是一个生态问题，也是一个经济问题：白蜡木在制造工具手柄和运动器材(如棒球棒)方面具有重要的经济意义，自榆树衰落以来种植的城市树木大多是白蜡树。目前还没有对这种破坏性害虫的有效控制，而且由于来自其亚洲原生范围的质量较差的数据，尚不清楚EAB的侵扰将在多大程度上超过目前在伦敦的限制。*我们假设冬季条件可能限制EAB的范围，并将使用生理学、小气候温度监测和数学建模的组合进行测试。我们将测量EAB对低温的生理反应，并监测安大略省16个地点白蜡树的冬季小气候温度，代表城市和林地环境。然后，我们将使用建模来预测1)更广泛的气候(和气候变化)如何影响EAB的越冬地点，以及2)温度可能如何影响EAB在安大略省和加拿大不同地区越冬的能力。这将使我们能够提前规划加拿大食品检查局以及城市和林地环境中的林农正在进行的对EAB入侵的反应。

Emerald ash borer (EAB) is an invasive bark-boring beetle that was introduced from Asia approximately 10 years ago. EAB infests all species of ash, inevitably resulting in the death of the tree, has already killed a large number of trees in SW Ontario and threatens an estimated one billion trees in the province. This is not only an ecological problem, but also an economic one: ash wood is economically important for tool handles and sporting equipment (like baseball bats), and the majority of urban trees planted since the decline of elms are ash. Currently there are no effective controls for this destructive pest, and because of poor-quality data from its native range in Asia, it is unclear how far the EAB infestation will extend beyond its current limit at London, ON.  We hypothesise that winter conditions may limit EAB range, and will test this using a combination ofphysiology, microclimate temperature monitoring and mathematical modeling. We will measure the physiological responses of EAB to low temperatures and also monitor winter microclimate temperatures in ash trees at 16 sites across Ontario, representing both urban and woodlot settings. We will then use modeling to allow us to predict 1) how the wider climate (and climate change) affect overwintering sites for EAB and 2) how temperature might affect the ability of EAB to survive winter in different parts of Ontario and Canada.  This will allow forward planning of the ongoing response to the EAB invasion by the Canadian Food Inspections Agency and by foresters in both urban and woodland settings.