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Trophic Roles and Climate-driven Vulnerability for Benthic Invertebrates at Artificial Reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico
No full textArtificial reefs are deployed to enhance marine habitats and fisheries, yet their role in supporting secondary production and their vulnerability to climate stressors remain understudied. This dissertation investigates the trophic ecology and climate sensitivity of benthic invertebrates at artificial reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Chapter 1 assessed reef food webs using stable isotopes from fishes, invertebrates, and primary producers across six reefs and two seasons. Mixing models showed that most fishes rely on benthic reef carbon, while suspension feeders consume plankton and sediment microphytobenthos. Isotopic niche analysis revealed functional diversity and seasonal shifts in δ¹³C and δ³⁴S, though niche widths remained stable. Chapter 2 examined the effects of ocean warming (OW) and acidification (OA) on the suspension-feeding clam Chama macerophylla. Single stressors increased metabolism, while combined OW and OA (OWA) reduced it. Warming also reduced tissue biomass relative to shell weight, suggesting energetic trade-offs. Chapter 3 expanded vulnerability assessments to two additional invertebrates—Megabalanus coccopoma (barnacle) and Stenorhynchus seticornis (arrow crab)—and evaluated predation risk by Gray Triggerfish (Balistes capriscus). M. coccopoma survival declined under extreme OW and OWA; S. seticornis experienced total mortality at the highest temperatures and increased predation under OWA. Overall, this work shows that artificial reefs support trophic linkages but host invertebrate species critical to ecosystem function that are vulnerable to climate change. These findings emphasize the importance of considering species-specific thresholds to avoid prey loss, disrupted predator-prey interactions, and reduced reef functionality in a changing ocean
Oral History Interview with Harold John (Part 2)
No full textHarold John is a former union steward who worked for the U.S. Postal Service. They have been heavily involved in labor activism, political advocacy, and community organizing over the course of their career.https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ejrloh/1011/thumbnail.jp
Leah Bailey Oral History Interview
No full textLeah Bailey is a Senior Community and Political Organizer for UNITE HERE Local 23. Born in New Orleans in 1980, she spent her high school years in Alabama and later graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in restaurant and hotel management. Her early career was in management with Sodexo. After experiencing burnout, she moved back to New Orleans in 2009, where she worked as a server in the French Quarter. In 2014, she was hired at Manning\u27s restaurant inside Harrah\u27s Casino, where she first became involved with the union. Her mother had also been a union member with AT&T. Through her work, Bailey gained extensive experience in shop-floor leadership, contract negotiations, corporate research, and political organizing within the hospitality industry.https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ejrloh/1030/thumbnail.jp
Analysis of Hydrological Model Uncertainty in the Response of Farmers\u27 Decision Models: A Case Study from the Lower Mississippi River Basin Region
Full text linkEver since human have evolved on planet earth, they have been dependent on water resources for almost every aspect of their lives. From food production to industry, water has been an integral part of the ever-growing human civilization. Increasing reliance on water has resulted in development of effective and sustainable management strategies. However, water management has remained a complex task due to different human and natural stressors. Hydro-economic models are powerful tools that have been widely used to study water resource systems, management options, economic values, and infrastructures. They have been used to analyze the Water-Energy-Food nexus, climatic interactions, and resource allocation for sustainable water management. Despite their diverse applicability, these models are subject to significant uncertainties because of their dependence on hydrological and economic factors. This study investigates the effect of model variabilities on the output of a hydro-economic model. We used three different hydrological models and varied parameters of each model to analyze the uncertainty in the output of the hydro-economic model. We also studied the variation when using the response of the economic model when forced with different future climatic scenarios. Results shows that the model parameter uncertainties varied among three selected conceptual models from 4.4% to 17%. Similarly, the model selection uncertainty on the four selected basins resulted in 11%, however, the model selection varied among the basins from 7.7% to 14.4%. The total uncertainties calculated by including both parameters and model selection resulted in nearly 17% uncertainties which also varied among basins ranging from 13.7 to 24.2%. This assessment clearly indicates that uncertainties are large enough to be neglected and should be considered for studies that relies on hydrological model simulations. Even though there was significant uncertainty on hydrological model selection, the propagated effects on framers’ decision were observed to be insignificant
CEO Incentives And Firm Behavior: Insights From Crisis And Policy Interventions
Full text linkThis dissertation explores how CEO incentives shape corporate decision-making under two distinct yet significant external forces: a global crisis and government intervention. The first essay investigates the role of CEO inside debt in corporate risk-taking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a comprehensive panel of U.S. firms from 2006 to 2023, the study finds that firms led by CEOs with greater inside debt holdings exhibited more conservative behaviors during the crisis, reflected in lower future stock return volatility, reduced R&D spending, and decreased financial leverage. These effects are particularly pronounced in firms with greater financial flexibility, such as high cash reserves or low leverage. The second essay examines how government subsidies influence the structure of CEO compensation. Analyzing data from U.S. firms between 1999 and 2022, the study shows that subsidies reduce the use of cash compensation while increasing equity- and option-based pay. This shift in pay structure encourages greater risk-taking, consistent with the rent extraction view. Together, these studies offer new insights into the complex ways executive incentives interact with firm responses to macroeconomic shocks and policy interventions, with implications for corporate governance, risk management, and regulatory design
The Ways of Water
Full text linkThe Ways of Water tells the story of recent college graduate Lindsay Cady, who heads to Alabama with his best friend in the hopes that he will find a way to put his new journalism degree to use. After scouring the news for days, a story that seems tailor-made for him appears on television. A child has gone missing in a nearby county, and the police are doing nothing to find him, according to the child’s distressed stepmother. Cady insists that this story demands to be told by him, though it\u27s unclear if his motivation is really about finding this missing child, or his intense captivation with the boy’s stepmother