COVID-19 restrictions and recreational fisheries in Ontario, Canada: Preliminary insights from an online angler survey.

The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding public health mitigation strategies have altered many facets of human life. And yet, little is known about how public health measures have impacted complex socio-ecological systems such as recreational fisheries. Using an online snowball survey, we targeted resident anglers in Ontario, Canada, to obtain preliminary insights on how the pandemic has impacted recreational fishing and related activity. We also explored angler perspectives on pandemic-related restrictions and other aspects of fisheries management. Our results point to the value of recreational fisheries for the mental and physical well-being of participants, as well as the value and popularity of outdoor recreation during a pandemic. Although angling effort and fish consumption appeared to decline during the early phases of the pandemic, approximately 21 % of the anglers who responded to our survey self-identified as new entrants who had begun or resumed fishing in that time. Self-reported motivations to fish during the pandemic suggest that free time, importance to mental and physical health, and desires for self-sufficiency caused some anglers to fish more, whereas a lack of free time, poor or uncertain accessibility, and perceived risks caused some anglers to fish less. Respondents also expressed their desires for more clear and consistent communication about COVID-19 fishing restrictions from governments, and viewed angling as a safe pandemic activity. Information on recreational angler behaviours, motivations, and perspectives during the pandemic may prove valuable to fisheries managers and policy makers looking to optimize their strategies for confronting this and other similar crises.

Post-translational control of protein function with light using a LOV-intein fusion protein.

Methods for the post-translational control of protein function with light hold much value as tools in cell biology. To this end, we report a fusion protein that consists of DnaE split-inteins, flanking the light sensitive LOV2 domain of Avena sativa. The resulting chimera combines the activities of these two unrelated proteins to enable controlled formation of a functional protein via upregulation of intein splicing with blue light in bacterial and human cells.

Probing the epigenetic regulation of HIF-1α transcription in developing tissue.

HIF-1 is the master regulator of cellular hypoxia response; the oxygen sensitive HIF-1α subunit transactivates its own expression in hypoxia via a hypoxia response element (HRE) in the promoter of the HIF-1α gene. This transactivation loop significantly contributes to the build up of HIF-1α at the onset of hypoxia, with the binding of HIF-1 to the HIF-1α promoter being dependent on the epigenetic status of a CpG dinucleotide in the upstream HRE. Given the central role played by HIF-1 in tissue development, we sought to probe the epigenetic status of the HIF-1α HRE and that of its downstream target EPO in embryonic tissue. Our data shows that the CpG dinucleotide in HIF-1α HRE is unmethylated in several embryonic tissue samples, suggesting that transactivation of HIF-1α plays a significant role in HIF-1 mediated hypoxia response during development.