A decade-long study demonstrates that a population of invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) can be controlled by introducing sterilized males.

The release of sterilized insects to control pest populations has been used successfully during the past 6 decades, but application of the method in vertebrates has largely been overlooked or met with failure. Here, we demonstrate for the first time in fish, that a small population of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus; Class Agnatha), arguably one of the most impactful invasive fish in the world, can be controlled by the release of sterilized males. Specifically, the release of high numbers of sterile males (~ 1000's) into a geographically isolated population of adult sea lamprey resulted in the first multiyear delay in pesticide treatment since treatments began during 1966. Estimates of percent reduction in recruitment of age-1 sea lamprey due to sterile male release ranged from 7 to 99.9% with the precision of the estimate being low because of substantial year-to-year variability in larval density and distribution. Additional monitoring that accounts for recruitment variability in time and space would reduce uncertainty in the degree to which sterile male release reduces recruitment rates. The results are relevant to vertebrate pest control programs worldwide, especially as technical opportunities to sterilize vertebrates and manipulate sex ratios expand.

Associations between neuroticism, subjective sleep quality, and depressive symptoms across the first year of college.

OBJECTIVE: Examine neuroticism's impact on the relationship between depressive symptoms and sleep quality during the college transition. PARTICIPANTS: First-year students (N = 302) from a southeastern university in the USA. METHODS: A longitudinal cross-lagged panel model assessed direct and indirect effects between self-reported sleep and depressed mood. RESULTS: Higher neuroticism was directly associated with both greater depressed mood and sleep quality. Poorer sleep quality was associated with depressive symptoms at baseline (ß = 0.250, [95% CI = 0.123,0.362]) and during spring semester (ß = 0.261, [95% CI = 0.126,0.383]). Baseline depressive symptoms predicted sleep quality during fall semester (ß = 0.140, [95% CI = 0.031, 0.247]), and fall semester sleep quality predicted spring semester depression symptoms (ß = 0.106, [95% CI = 0.007,0.201]). DISCUSSION: Neuroticism is an indicator of emotional distress and disrupted sleep upon college entry. Furthermore, there was evidence for both within time-point and prospective associations between sleep quality and depression symptoms albeit at different times throughout the first year of college.