Opting for an Open Society? Personality Traits and Attitudes toward the Openness of Switzerland

The tension between openness and closedness is one of the most important cleavages in Swiss political debates. In the present article, we study the psychological foundations of attitudes regarding this issue. More precisely, we examine the link between personality and attitudes toward the degree of openness of Switzerland as a general stance toward the cultural, economic and political alignment of the country. Personality is understood as a complex and multifaceted concept that forms the basis for consistent patterns of attitudes and behavior. We build on the Five-Factor Theory to explain the link between personality traits, contextual factors and political attitudes. Analyzing survey data from a random sample of Swiss citizens, we find clear evidence that personality traits affect political attitudes. Furthermore, we are able to demonstrate that the relationship between personality and attitudes toward the degree of openness of Switzerland is moderated by perceived ethnic diversity in the neighborhood.

Rapid divergence in physiological and life-history traits between northern and southern populations of the British introduced neo-species, Senecio squalidus

Alien plants provide a unique opportunity to study evolution in novel environments, but relatively little is known about the extent to which they become locally adapted to different environments across their new range. Here, we compare northern and southern populations of the introduced species Senecio squalidus in Britain; S. squalidus has been in southern Britain for approximately 200 years and reached Scotland only about 50 years ago. We conducted common garden experiments at sites in the north and south of the species’ range in Britain. We also conducted glasshouse and growth chamber experiments to test the hypothesis that southern genotypes flower later, are more drought-tolerant, germinate and establish better at warmer temperatures, and are less sensitive to cold stress than their more northern counterparts. Results from the common garden experiments are largely consistent with the hypothesis of rapid adaptive divergence of populations of the species within the introduced range, with genotypes typically showing a home-site advantage. Results from the glasshouse and growth chamber experiments demonstrate adaptive divergence in ability to tolerate drought stress and high temperatures, as well as in phenology. In particular, southern genotypes were more tolerant of dry conditions and high temperatures and they flowered later than northern genotypes. Our results show that rapid local adaptation can occur in alien species, and they have implications for our understanding of the ecological genetics of range expansion of introduced weeds.

Effects of divergent selection for growth on egg quality traits in Japanese quail

The experiment was designed to investigate the impact of selection for increased body mass on external and internal egg quality traits of Japanese quail. Three hundred and sixty Japanese quail, divergently selected over three generations for different body mass at 4 weeks of age, were used. Quail were homogeneously divided into three groups each consisting of 120 birds: high body mass (HBM), low body mass (LBM) and Control. ANOVA was used to detect the effect of selection on egg quality. In addition, correlation between external and internal egg quality traits was measured. Our results revealed thatHBMquail laid heavier eggs (P = 0.03 compared with LBM but not significantly different with Control quail) with a higher external (shell thickness, shell weight, eggshell ratio and eggshell density, P = 0.0001) and internal egg quality score (albumen weight, P = 0.003; albumen ratio, P = 0.01; albumen height, yolk height, yolk index and Haugh unit, P = 0.0001) when compared with both the Control and LBM. The egg surface area and yolk diameter were significantly higher in HBM when compared with the LBM but not with the Control line. Egg weight was positively correlated with albumen weight (r = 0.54, P = 0.0001), albumen ratio (r = 0.14, P = 0.05), yolk height (r = 0.27, P = 0.0001), yolk weight (r = 0.23, P = 0.002), yolk diameter (r = 0.14, P = 0.05) and yolk index (r = 0.21, P = 0.005) but was negatively correlated with yolk ratio (r = –0.16, P = 0.03). Our results indicate that selection for higher body mass might result in heavier eggs and superior egg quality.