Background: Investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both physical activity (PA) and mental health is important to demonstrate the need for interventions. This study examined the apparent impact of the pandemic on college students’ PA, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms. Methods: From 2015 through 2020, data were collected at the beginning and end of the spring semester at a large Northeastern US university via an online survey assessing student demographics, PA, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms. Mixed ANOVA examined differences in PA and mental health changes over the spring semester between “normal” and COVID-19 circumstances. Two-way ANOVA examined the interaction between circumstance and changes in PA in relation to changes in mental health. Results: Participants (n = 1019) were predominately women and non-Hispanic white. There was a significant decline in PA and an increase in perceived stress under COVID-19, but not normal, circumstances and a significant increase in depressive symptoms under COVID-19, but not normal, circumstances among women. Conclusions: A significant decline in PA and mental health among college students occurred under COVID-19 circumstances, and PA did not appear to protect against deterioration in mental health. Proactive and innovative policies, programs, and practices to promote student health and well-being must be explored immediately.

Stocking programs designed to return extirpated species to their historical range have become increasingly prevalent, punctuating the need to better understand the risks posed to recipient ecosystems. Here, we investigated the genetic and biological consequences of an anadromous sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) stocking program in Skaha Lake, British Columbia, where substantial levels of hybridization and introgression with the native freshwater resident ecotype (kokanee) have been detected. We genetically assigned 543 individuals (adult spawners, age-0 juveniles) to estimate stock proportions (pure-stock sockeye, pure-stock kokanee, or hybrid) between 2010 and 2017, with a subset undergoing otolith microchemistry analysis to determine migratory life history and maternal ancestry. The proportion of hybrid spawners varied from 5% to 20% across sampling years, while that of hybrid age-0 juveniles remained relatively constant (∼11%). Hybrid spawners exhibited intermediate size relative to pure stocks, with the vast majority being nonanadromous (92%) and of resident maternal ancestry (76%). Our results provide empirical support for previously hypothesized mechanisms of hybridization between O. nerka life-history forms and underscore the importance of continued monitoring of stocking programs to quantify long-term fitness impacts of introgression and refine management strategies.

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Stocking programs have been widely implemented to re-establish extirpated fish species to their historical ranges; when employed in species with complex life histories, such management activities should include careful consideration of resulting hybridization dynamics with resident stocks and corresponding outcomes on recovery initiatives. Genetic monitoring can be instrumental for quantifying the extent of introgression over time, however conventional markers typically have limited power for the identification of advanced hybrid classes, especially at the intra-specific level. Here, we demonstrate a workflow for developing, evaluating and deploying a Genotyping-in-Thousands by Sequencing (GT-seq) SNP panel with the power to detect advanced hybrid classes to assess the extent and trajectory of intra-specific hybridization, using the sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) stocking program in Skaha Lake, British Columbia as a case study. Previous analyses detected significant levels of hybridization between the anadromous (sockeye) and freshwater resident (kokanee) forms of O. nerka, but were restricted to assigning individuals to pure-stock or “hybrid”. Simulation analyses indicated our GT-seq panel had high accuracy, efficiency and power (> 94.5%) of assignment to pure-stock sockeye salmon/kokanee, F1, F2, and B2 backcross-sockeye/kokanee. Re-analysis of 2016/2017 spawners previously analyzed using TaqMan® assays and otolith microchemistry revealed shifts in assignment of some hybrids to adjacent pure-stock or B2 backcross classes, while new assignment of 2019 spawners revealed hybrids comprised 31% of the population, ~ 74% of which were B2 backcross or F2. Overall, the GT-seq panel development workflow presented here could be applied to virtually any system where genetic stock identification and intra-specific hybridization are important management parameters.

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