Emerald ash borer able to withstand cold up to –40 C, new research indicates
CBC
Scientists in Sault Ste Marie, Ont., have made a discovery about the emerald ash borer that could help assess future risk to the region's — and Canada's — threatened ash trees.
Amanda Roe, a scientist at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre, studied how the ash borer was able to survive extreme cold temperatures and adapt its physiology to severe Canadian winters.
The study, titled "Plasticity," was published in Current Research in Insect Science. Co-authors include Meghan Gray and Chris MacQuarrie from Great Lakes Forestry Centre, and Meghan Duell and Brent Sinclair from Western University in London.
Roe said the researchers isolated beetle larvae to study how they reacted under extreme cold temperatures similar to those in Canada, specifically, icy Winnipeg temperatures.
"These larvae actually can survive really cold temperatures, and they do that by keeping their blood from freezing," Roe said.
"As long as their blood stays liquid, they will survive, and they do that by using antifreeze … they use glycerol."
The larvae Roe tested survived through –40 C, with one beetle surviving into –50 C, before freezing and dying.
"They're significantly more cold tolerant than anything we'd seen before," she said.
The amazing part, Roe said, was the beetles harvested from Winnipeg appear to be adapting to their location, becoming more acclimatized to deep dips in the temperature.
"These bugs from Winnipeg, if they're given a southern Ontario winter, they behave like other bugs from southern Ontario, so they don't get that cold," Roe said.
"But those Winnipeg bugs, if they experience a Winnipeg-like winter, they are the ones that are able to get those really low survival temperatures."
Roe said that means the emerald ash borer can adapt its physiology to the conditions the bug is experiencing.
"They're responding in a flexible way," she said. "It's priming them to be able to survive those more extreme temperatures."
And that's not good news for Canada's ash tree population.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Norman Marshall Villeneuve, iconic drummer of the Canadian jazz scene known for his musicality, mentorship and spirited passion, has died. He was 87 years old.
Nineteen years ago, Gary Conway bought a ticket to the Winnipeg Folk Festival to hear singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn.
The City of Edmonton is launching a trial period to expand its transit payment system to include direct credit and debit card transactions.
Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki made headlines last week when he said in an interview with iPolitics that humanity has lost its fight against climate change.
A firestorm of controversy has been brewing in Niagara Falls, Ont., in the weeks since a former Olympian-turned-councillor was charged with domestic assault.
The 32-year-old man who died at the Windsor jail last month is being remembered as a great man who always wanted to help those who needed it.
In one week, Patrick Cully will find out whether his five-year-old daughter Scarlet will be able to continue the life-changing therapy she's relied on for more than a year — or if long waitlists and a lack of funding will halt her progress.
As Conestoga College faces layoffs and program suspensions, the union leaders representing its employees say the toll on the workers is mounting.
Hoping to drive more people downtown and breathe more life into the area, the City of Summerside is now going over a number of recommendations on how to revitalize its downtown and waterfront.
Yukon First Nations are calling on the territorial government to repeal amendments it made in May to mining regulations.
Wanda Resmer says she didn't see the news coming.
Residents along the Toronto West Railpath are frustrated with what they say is a lack of transparency from Metrolinx on end dates for nearby construction projects, their city councillor says.
As officials try to make sense of an alleged multi-year fraud engineered so several people could personally profit from money meant to be spent on keeping London's hospitals running, CBC News dug into the people accused in the scheme.