This dissertation consists of three essays. In the first essay, we attempt to answer the following three questions about the new capital raised in IPOs: Why do some IPO companies raise a lot of new capital while some others don’t? Where do the IPO companies use the new capital they raise in IPOs? How does the use of new capital affect the operating performance of IPO companies? We find that companies with higher R&D spending, higher capital expenditure, lower working capital and more long term debt tend to raise more capital in IPOs. These firms also spend more on R&D and capital expenditure. The more new capital firms raise in IPOs, the lower sales growth rate they have. However, firms spending a higher proportion of new capital on R&D seem to have higher sales growth rate. In the second essay, we examine the relation between IPO valuation and offering size. Using a sample of 3,885 IPOs from the US, we find that IPO firms with larger offering size have lower valuation. Both primary share offering and secondary share offering are negatively related to IPO firm valuation. The valuation measures are positively related to the levels of capital expenditure and R&D before IPO, lending support to explanations based on Jensen (1986)’s free cash flow hypothesis. We also find evidence consistent with negative signals from larger secondary share offering size. Results of tests about long run IPO stock performance do not support the hypothesis that IPO stock demand curve is downward sloping. In the third essay, we examine how analysts react to IPO offering size. We find that analysts predict lower long-term growth rates for IPOs with larger offering size. The sizes of both primary and secondary offering are negatively related to long-term growth rate forecasts. We find evidence that the free cash flow effect may be related to the negative relation between primary offering size and growth forecast.

The first year of life is one of the main survival bottlenecks for many fish species. Individual traits affecting survival can be morphological, physiological or behavioural. Body size, growth rate and activity have all been found to affect fitness in different organisms. However, the effects of these traits on fitness in natural conditions and for underyearlings are poorly investigated. In this study we attempted to induce compensatory growth in laboratory conditions in natural populations of brown trout fry (Salmo trutta). It was performed by exposing the fry to a period of restricted resources followed by a period of refeeding. Two behavioural trials were conducted on each individual where activity level was scored. All fish were subsequently released in their native stream and recaptured after a month to check for survival. We found that high individual activity level in an open field context increased the probability of survival under natural conditions. The importance of body size for survival decreased over time, and thus, with fish size. Full compensation was detected in body condition, while only partly compensation in weight and no compensation in length were detected during the experimental periods. Our results suggest that a brown trout fry’s individual activity level is repeatable and can be an important trait for selection in nature. The instable interactions between activity and life-history traits indicate environmental effects on these interactions. Furthermore, if body size is not the only trait affecting survival, compensation in body structures may not be a fast response to increase fitness after a period of growth depression.

Pulsatilla vernalis is one of several endangered plant species that benefit from wildfires and small scale disturbance events that repel competing vegetation and create open patches in the vegetation cover. Previous studies argue that Pulsatilla vernalis is decreasing in numbers due to vegetation changes associated with the decrease in wildfires, forest grazing and changes in forest management. In this study, 17 populations of P. vernalis were inventoried in order to examine if soil and/or vegetation structures affect the population structure of P. vernalis (i.e. population size, presence of flowering individuals, density of juveniles) and if performed conservation attempts in the populations have been positive for P. vernalis. This was done by counting the number of vegetative, flowering and juvenile individuals and examining soil and vegetation structure in the populations. The population sizes were then compared with estimates of population sizes from earlier inventories of P. vernalis at the same localities. The study also presents specific recommendations for an improved conservation management of P. vernalis. The results of this study show that mechanical conservation management had a positive effect on the population size and that open areas in the vegetation cover provided better conditions for viable populations of P. vernalis. To prevent the trend of decreasing population sizes of P. vernalis, conservation measures must be carried out to repel competing vegetation and to restore or maintain open patches in existing populations.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

By performing a comparative analysis and using phylogenetic relationships of the Cervidaefamily this study aimed to address whether or not sexual selection may play a role in the extinctionof species by making species more vulnerable to extinction. The role of sexual selection in makingspecies more vulnerable to extinction is largely unexplored, and several factors such as ecologicaland life history traits may increase the risk of extinction.In all species of the family Cervidae (Gilbert et al. 2006, Geist 1998,Groves and Grubb2011,Meijaardand Groves2004,Price et al. 2005, Goss 1983) sexually selected characters plays amain role in determining species status and thus potentially their probability of extinction. In thisstudy the intensity of sexual selection (measured as sexual size dimorphism, antler size and matingsystem) and the rate of extinction (IUCN classification and anthropogenic effect) were counted asfactors to determine the role of sexual selection intensity in both species-rich and species-poorclades.By using the programme MESQUITE and phylogenetic trees, the results show an associationbetween species with larger body size and dimorphism, living in open habitats and having largerantler size expanded to more than three tines; such species are mostly non-territorial and formharems during the rutting season. The small species are territorial, live in closed habitats, aremonomorphic and have small antler size limited to two tines or less. Moreover species that aremore subjected to habitat degradation and anthropogenic effects tend to become smaller in size.Extinction risk for the species-rich clades with small sized, territorial and small antler sizedspecies is lower than for those consisting of species with larger antler size, larger body size, livingin open habitats and using harems as mating system.To sum up, the intensity of sexual selection in larger species in deer family put them in risk ofextinction; but on the other site, small species are more adapted to the environment by choosingdifferent strategy in mating system, and reducing antler and body size thus diminishing theextinction risk.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine and map out the network innovative companies and to calculate values of the network structure in order to compare them to different performance measures. Furthermore, we aim to investigate the trade-off efficiency of innovations in a particular network structure, more specifically to investigate if the same elements generating more innovations have a relationship with economic performance that originates from innovations.   Methodology - This study give emphasis to map and illustrate the Swedish companies on NASDAQ OMX First North network through direct and indirect connection and to compare the centrality, density and size of the companies ego network in our population with the performance measures which are logically connected with the launch of an innovation; average EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and average annual turnover. Findings - First we noticed that there was a significant connection between a negative average EBITDA and positive average annual turnover for our population, as we foretold would occur during the launch of an innovation. Secondly, the paper suggests that there is a weak or near non-existent connection between the elements that generates more innovations and the result of innovations, e.g. the economic performance of innovative firms. This might indicate that the focus of recent studies in the subject might have been mistaken focusing on the quantity of innovation, when the basic assumption of an innovation is that it is qualitative and thereby generates money for the company. This study suggests that more innovations do not necessarily lead to better economic performance for the companies within our population.

The purpose of this study was to determine how agriculture on both the national and local level has responded to a variety-of cultural and technological factors, including governmental policies and international trade, during the years from 1920 to 1964. Darke and Mercer counties were chosen for the examination of local data because of their predominantly agricultural orientation.

The structure of phytoplankton communities was examined seasonally across five rivers with a focus on small cells and their relative importance. Picophytoplankton (0.2-2 μm), previously considered insignificant in rivers, reached densities as high as those observed in lakes and oceans (~ 10e4-10e5 cells/mL). Their relative importance was not a function of trophic state with the highest contribution to algal biomass found in the most eutrophic river. Body size distributions were analyzed from both chlorophyll-a size fractions and taxonomic enumerations; no significant effect of river or season was detected, suggesting that phytoplankton size distribution is not a useful metric of change in rivers. Unlike lake ecosystems, the rivers were uniformly dominated by small cells (< 20 μm). Taxonomic analyses of the seasonal succession did not reveal a common periodicity of particular divisions (e.g. diatoms). However, strong dominance was more typical of eutrophic rivers even though taxa richness was similar.

In 2005 and 2010, high sea surface temperatures caused widespread coral bleaching on Jamaica’s north coast reefs. Three shallow (9m) reef sites were surveyed during each event to quantify the prevalence and intensity of coral bleaching. In October 2005, 29-57% of the colonies surveyed were bleached. By April 2006, 10% of the corals remained pale/partially bleached. Similarly, in October 2010, 23-51% of corals surveyed at the same sites were bleached. By April 2011, 12% of the colonies remained pale/partially bleached. Follow-up surveys revealed low coral mortality following both events, with an overall mean of 4% partial colony mortality across all species and sites observed in April 2006, and 2% in April 2011. Mixed effects models were used to quantify the relationship between colony size and (a) bleaching intensity, and (b) bleaching related mortality among coral species. The bleaching intensity model explained 51% of the variance in the bleaching response observed during the two events. Of this 51%, fixed effects accounted for ~26% of the variance, 17% of which was attributed to species-specific susceptibility to bleaching , 5% to colony size, <1% colony morphology and 4% to the difference in bleaching intensity between the two events. The random factor (site) accounted for the remaining ~25% of the variance. The mortality model explained 16% of the variance in post bleaching mortality with fixed effects, including colony size, morphology and species explaining ~11% of the variance, and the random effect (site) explaining 5%. On average, there was a twofold difference in bleaching intensity between the smallest and the largest size classes. Modelling the relationship between colony level characteristics and site-specific environmental factors on coral species’ susceptibility to thermal stress can shed light on community level responses to future disturbances.

Particle size and shape are important characteristics of the sediment which affects the adsorption of sediment-associate contaminants and nutrients onto the surface of sediment. This thesis characterized the spatial and temporal variation in size and shape of sediment particles in the Tobacco Creek Watershed. A strong correlation between the particle size of suspended sediment and stream discharge was observed. Spatial and temporal variation in size of suspended and channel bed sediment showed that particle size was significantly coarser at the upper reaches and following the rainfall events, but finer at the lower reaches and following the snowmelt events. Image analysis of coarser particles showed that rock fragments are not becoming rounded in short distances, but they reduced in size. The coarser materials from bedrock outcrops can be sources of fine-sized particle during transport. These findings have important implications for understanding suspended sediment dynamics transport in the study watershed.