With over 40 faculty members, the Department of Biology is one of the most diverse departments within the faculty of science. Even “biology” itself, that is the study of life, can encompass many aspects. This is no surprise, as life can exist in a myriad of forms, with just as many ways to study it. One example of biology’s unique facets is entomology, the study of insects.

Entomology is not just simply viewing insect bodily structure and learning the physiology behind it. The study also includes understanding the unique abilities of insects that differentiates them from other creatures and explaining these stark differences.

Dr. Brent Sinclair, a professor in the Department of Biology, has been studying insect cold tolerance for over 20 years, an interest that stemmed from his early years in university.

“I’m from New Zealand originally. In third year, I was taking an environmental physiology class; and we did a guest lecture,” explains Sinclair. “He [the guest lecturer] gave a lecture on kinds of insect cold tolerance techniques. And I was like ‘this is what I want to do.’ And it’s what I’ve been doing ever since.”

Since that realization, Sinclair has published a multitude of articles and scientific research into the understanding of mechanisms by which many insect species survive in such low temperatures.

“Insects are endotherms, meaning their body temperature roughly matches the temperature of their environment. When it is cold, a lot of biological processes stop, and they still do okay. When it gets really cold, insects run the risk of freezing; however, they still survive that,” explains Sinclair.

With cold tolerance being such a unique aspect of entomology, it often requires travelling to myriad locations across the world where cold-tolerant insect species can be found.

“I did a lot of my PhD work and post-doc work in Antarctica, and a lot of work in New Zealand and South Africa,” says Sinclair.

Sinclair also has recently conducted research in the arctic, in places such as Yukon and Southern Greenland. Since coming to London, he has focused more on local species like the Asian Long-horned beetle.

As for current research endeavors, the Sinclair Lab is studying insect invasive species, such as the aforementioned Asian Long-horned beetle, as well as the emerald ash borer. Sinclair is also currently conducting research in the agricultural implications involving certain insect species, such as Drosophila suzukii.

“With less kind of applied work, we have two model systems that we like at the moment in the lab. One that is a beetle, called the ‘Colorado potato beetle,’ and we use that to study metabolism and cold tolerance at low temperatures,” explains Sinclair. “We also work on a cricket called the ‘spring field cricket,’ and they are able to survive being frozen solid, so they’re a great model for that.”

The Department of Biology is enormous, not solely in faculty members or research being conducted, but more so in relating to the interdisciplinary nature of its various fields.

“It is a very collaborative environment. A lot of us collaborate with people who don’t work on insects. It doesn’t matter what kind of biology you are interested in, there are lots of good research happening at Western on these topics,” states Sinclair

Biology is not solely one field or one subject; it cannot be divided into simply entomology or physiology. for example. The two fields undoubtedly intertwine. Attempting to define biology under certain fields and subjects serves only to undermine the complexity of life itself.

Dr. Sinclair summarizes this notion very well.

“I don’t think any one of us—other than maybe one or two of us—would identify ourselves as  an ‘entomologist,’ someone who studies insects. We are more so, biologists, who happen to work on insects.”