Campus Mental Health: Implications for Instructors Supporting Students

The recent escalation in student suicides due to mental health problems has encouraged higher education institutions to not only modify their overall support structures, but to also (re)define the role of faculty and staff. Despite the increased attention given to student mental health in Canadian higher education institutions, little is known and understood about how instructors view their role as supporters or promoters of student mental health. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of college instructors in supporting students with mental health problems or illnesses. Participants were 42 instructors between the ages of 25 to 64 from Molize College in Toronto, Ontario. Qualitative ethnography was employed to gather data from participants, specifically through a survey questionnaire and interviews. A constructivist framework was adopted to analyze and understand the values, perceptions, meanings, and practices post-secondary instructors carry around notions of student mental health and intervention. Findings revealed that instructors were generally aware of student mental health concerns in post-secondary institutions, but that greater awareness was still warranted, namely in the areas of instructor mental health and location of support services. Findings also demonstrated that most instructors evaluated their knowledge and confidence in relation to student mental health as poor, which was often credited to limited relevant professional development and training. Additionally, data indicated that instructors carried skepticism towards the role of some student support services departments, as well as towards their own role when supporting the mental health and well-being of students. On a final note, findings revealed that instructors commonly employed four practices to support the mental health and well-being of students: conversation, referral, accommodations, and curricular inclusion and instruction. Future studies are encouraged to acknowledge the narratives of instructors through ethnographic inquiry, to allow for greater insights into their awareness, knowledge/confidence, responsibilities, and practices when it comes to supporting the mental health and well-being of students in higher education settings. Incorporating the instructor may not be a panacea for the shortcomings of current mental health policies and practices in higher education settings, but it can certainly represent a colossal step in that direction. KEYWORDS: student mental health, higher education, instructor

SNAGA, TEORIJA I PRAKSA (Kraft, Theorie und Praxis)

We have developed a global biogeographic classification of the mesopelagic zone to reflect the regional scales over which the ocean interior varies in terms of biodiversity and function. An integrated approach was necessary, as global gaps in information and variable sampling methods preclude strictly statistical approaches. A panel combining expertise in oceanography, geospatial mapping, and deep-sea biology convened to collate expert opinion on the distributional patterns of pelagic fauna relative to environmental proxies (temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen at mesopelagic depths). An iterative Delphi Method integrating additional biological and physical data was used to classify biogeographic ecoregions and to identify the location of ecoregion boundaries or inter-regions gradients. We define 33 global mesopelagic ecoregions. Of these, 20 are oceanic while 13 are ‘distant neritic.’ While each is driven by a complex of controlling factors, the putative primary driver of each ecoregion was identified. While work remains to be done to produce a comprehensive and robust mesopelagic biogeography (i.e., reflecting temporal variation), we believe that the classification set forth in this study will prove to be a useful and timely input to policy planning and management for conservation of deep-pelagic marine resources. In particular, it gives an indication of the spatial scale at which faunal communities are expected to be broadly similar in composition, and hence can inform application of ecosystem-based management approaches, marine spatial planning and the distribution and spacing of networks of representative protected areas

Seasonal chaetognath abundance and distribution in a tropical estuary (Southeastern, Brazil)

This study focuses on the seasonal variation of the chaetognath species in the Vitória Bay/Passage Channel estuarine system, Espírito Santo, Brazil, in terms of their abundance and distribution. Specimens of chaetognaths were collected between July 1997 and April 1998 at 10 sampling stations, with a cylindrical-conical plankton net of 200 µm mesh and 30 cm mouth, fitted with a mechanical flowmeter. Five chaetognath species were identified: Sagitta enflata, Sagitta decipiens, Sagitta hispida, Sagitta friderici and Sagitta minima. Most of them were distributed in areas of high salinity (e.g. at the stations closest to the outer estuary). The dominant species, S. enflata and S. friderici, were more frequent in the outer estuary where salinities varied from 32 (wet season - summer) to 28 (dry season - winter). S. friderici was the only species found right in the middle of the Passage Channel, at a station close to the main freshwater input into the estuary. Results showed that chaetognaths only enter the estuary due to the tidal effect, and that they are not typical residents of this system. This is to be expected because the group normally inhabits only truly marine regions.<br>Este estudo abordou a abundância e distribuição sazonal das espécies de quetognatos, no sistema estuarino baía de Vitória/Canal da Passagem, Espírito Santo, Brasil. Os organismos foram coletados entre julho de 1997 e abril de 1998 em 10 estações amostrais, utilizando uma rede de plâncton cilíndrico-cônica de 200µm de malha e 30 cm de abertura de boca, dotada de um fluxômetro mecânico. Cinco espécies de quetognatos foram identificadas: Sagitta enflata, Sagitta decipiens, Sagitta hispida, Sagitta friderici e Sagitta minima. A maioria destas espécies esteve distribuída em áreas com alta salinidade (e.g. estações próximas a saída do estuário). As espécies dominantes S. enflata e S. friderici foram mais freqüentes na parte externa do estuário onde as salinidades variaram de 32 (verão - estação chuvosa) a 28 (inverno - estação seca). S. friderici foi a única espécie encontrada no meio do Canal da Passagem, em uma estação próxima a uma fonte de água doce para o estuário. Os resultados mostram que os quetognatos entram no estuário devido ao efeito da maré, não sendo residentes típicos desse sistema. Isto é esperado visto que este grupo normalmente habita regiões verdadeiramente marinhas

Photographs of pteropod specimens.

Photographs of pteropod specimens used for phylogenetic analyses in this study

Oceanic dispersal barriers in a holoplanktonic gastropod

Pteropods, a group of holoplanktonic gastropods, are regarded as bioindicators of the effects of ocean acidification on open ocean ecosystems, because their thin aragonitic shells are susceptible to dissolution. While there have been recent efforts to address their capacity for physiological acclimation, it is also important to gain predictive understanding of their ability to adapt to future ocean conditions. However, little is known about the levels of genetic variation and large‐scale population structuring of pteropods, key characteristics enabling local adaptation. We examined the spatial distribution of genetic diversity in the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and nuclear 28S gene fragments, as well as shell shape variation, across a latitudinal transect in the Atlantic Ocean (35°N–36°S) for the pteropod Limacina bulimoides. We observed high levels of genetic variability (COI π = 0.034, 28S π = 0.0021) and strong spatial structuring (COI ΦST = 0.230, 28S ΦST = 0.255) across this transect. Based on the congruence of mitochondrial and nuclear differentiation, as well as differences in shell shape, we identified a primary dispersal barrier in the southern Atlantic subtropical gyre (15–18°S). This barrier is maintained despite the presence of expatriates, a gyral current system, and in the absence of any distinct oceanographic gradients in this region, suggesting that reproductive isolation between these populations must be strong. A secondary dispersal barrier supported only by 28S pairwise ΦST comparisons was identified in the equatorial upwelling region (between 15°N and 4°S), which is concordant with barriers observed in other zooplankton species. Both oceanic dispersal barriers were congruent with regions of low abundance reported for a similar basin‐scale transect that was sampled 2 years later. Our finding supports the hypothesis that low abundance indicates areas of suboptimal habitat that result in barriers to gene flow in widely distributed zooplankton species. Such species may in fact consist of several populations or (sub)species that are adapted to local environmental conditions, limiting their potential for adaptive responses to ocean changes. Future analyses of genome‐wide diversity in pteropods could provide further insight into the strength, formation and maintenance of oceanic dispersal barriers.publishedVersionPaid Open Acces

Maximum Likelihood phylogeny of pteropods based on the concatenated dataset of Cytochrome Oxidase I (amino acid alignment) and ribosomal genes 28S and 18S (nucleotide alignments) excluding the long-branch taxa <i>Heliconoides inflatus</i> and <i>Limacina bulimoides</i>.

<p>Black squares represent a bootstrap support of ≥80%, with small, medium and large black squares representing support within genera, of genera, and above genus level, respectively. Supported euthecosome genera are highlighted in coloured boxes, and representative shell shapes of species are drawn on the right, with all scale bars representing 1 mm. Maximum Likelihood phylogeny including the long-branch taxa <i>Heliconoides inflatus</i> and <i>Limacina bulimoides</i> is shown in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0177325#pone.0177325.s005" target="_blank">S5 Fig</a>. Abbreviations ATL, PAC, and IND denote Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean origins, respectively, including their sectors in the Southern Ocean.</p

Overview of molecular clock calibration settings using three different methods.

<p>Overview of molecular clock calibration settings using three different methods.</p

Fossil-calibrated phylogeny of pteropods (46 taxa, maximum one sequence per taxon per ocean) following Method 1 with crown calibrations based on the oldest known fossils of <i>Hyalocylis</i>, <i>Diacria</i>, <i>Cavolinia</i>, <i>Cuvierinia</i>, <i>Creseis</i>, <i>Limacina</i>, and euthecosomes (<i>see</i> Table 1).

<p>Drawings of fossils used for calibration are shown on the left, with all scale bars representing 1 mm, and calibrations are indicated with letters A to G. Error bars (95%) are shown only for clades with posterior probabilities ≥0.95 in green for uncoiled euthecosomes, purple for coiled euthecosomes, red for pseudothecosomes, and blue for gymnosomes. Abbreviations ATL, PAC, and IND denote Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean origins, respectively, including their sectors in the Southern Ocean.</p