While most Canadians are no doubt pleased that this winter’s extreme cold temperatures are coming to an end, researchers at Western University warn that the ecological impacts could continue throughout the summer.
In a recent review of ecological impacts on climate change, Brent Sinclair from Western’s Faculty of Science and his collaborators at Western and the University of Florida investigated how winter conditions may affect summer performances on a wide range of living things ranging from hibernating mammals and overwintering insects to migrating birds and even plants and soil microbes.
The overall impact could alter ecological interactions, leading to more, or possibly less, pest species on the planet or better or worse plant growth. Sinclair, who has been fielding calls from academics, concerned citizens and the media about the possible effects of a long, cold winter for months, says it’s still too early to tell exactly how life will change – but it will change. 
“People want to know if this weird winter will kill mosquitoes or the emerald ash borer, but winter is a complicated season,” says Sinclair. “For plants and animals in the wild, winter conditions are a combination of the average temperature, the extreme fluctuations in temperature and snow cover so there are many variables.”
According to Sinclair, “A long, cold winter means that many organisms, such as birds, will have burned more energy than during a normal winter. Some insects will have been killed by the extreme low temperatures, while others will have saved more energy and will actually have increased their survival rates.”
Sinclair teamed with Hugh Henry from Western’s Department of Biology and Western alumna and current University of Florida researcher Caroline Williams on the climate change research, which was published by Biological Reviews.  
Most animals will survive a harsh winter but growth and reproduction in the summer could be affected. Sinclair notes that most biological field work is conducted in the summer, due largely to better conditions, and believes that more year-round ecological studies are needed with a specific focus on how winter conditions affect summer performance.
As for insects like mosquitoes and emerald ash borers, Sinclair says most are extremely well-adapted to low temperatures and insects native to Canada most likely survived the cold winter. 
“Many of the headline numbers we’ve seen have been wind chill values, which cold-blooded insects don’t experience, rather than absolute numbers,” explains Sinclair, “However, some species that traditionally have northern distribution at the Canada-U.S. border may have been knocked back.”
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