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After its introduction into North America, Euro- Asian Phragmites australis became an aggressive invasive wetland grass along the Atlantic coast of North America. Its distribution range has since expanded to the middle, south and southwest of North America, where invasive P. australis has replaced millions of hectares of native plants in inland and tidal wetlands. Another P. australis invasion from the Mediterranean region is simultaneously occurring in the Gulf region of the United States and some countries in South America. Here, we analysed the occurrence records of the two Old World invasive lineages of P. australis (Haplotype M and Med) in both their native and introduced ranges using environmental niche models ( ENMs) to assess (i) whether a niche shift accompanied the invasions in the New World; (ii) the role of biologically relevant climatic variables and human influence in the process of invasion; and (iii) the current potential distribution of these two lineages. We detected local niche shifts along the East Coast of North America and the Gulf Coast of the United States for Haplotype M and around the Mississippi Delta and Florida of the United States for Med. The new niche of the introduced Haplotype M accounts for temperature fluctuations and increased precipitation. The introduced Med lineage has enlarged its original subtropical niche to the tropics-subtropics, invading regions with a high annual mean temperature (> ca. 10 °C) and high precipitation in the driest period. Human influence is an important factor for both niches. We suggest that an increase in precipitation in the 20th century, global warming and human-made habitats have shaped the invasive niches of the two lineages in the New World. However, as the invasions are ongoing and human and natural disturbances occur concomitantly, the future distribution ranges of the two lineages may diverge from the potential distribution ranges detected in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Common practice of aquaculture in Vietnam and other countries in South East Asia involves frequent discharge of polluted water into rivers which results in eutrophication and degradation of receiving water bodies. There is therefore a need to develop improved aquaculture systems which have a more efficient use of water and less environmental impact. The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of using constructed wetlands (CWs) for the treatment of fishpond water in a recirculating aquaculture system in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Water from a fishpond stocked with Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) was recirculated through horizontal and vertical flow CWs. The CWs were able to keep a good water quality with DO (>1mg/l−1), BOD (<30mg l−1), TAN (<1mg l−1) and NO2 − (<0.07mg l−1) at acceptable concentrations for growth of the fish. There was a good removal of organic matter measured as oxygen demand with up to 50% removal of BOD and COD in both types of CWs despite the high loading rates and low concentration levels. However, the vertical flow CWs performed better than the horizontal flow CWs as they had higher nitrification rates and higher DO concentrations in the outlets. The ornamental Canna × generalis planted in the CWs grew faster and took up more N and P in the vertical flow CWs. The aquaculture fish had a feed conversion ratio of 1.53 based on feed dry weight, and 31% and 34% of N and P input, respectively, were incorporated into fish biomass. Only minor quantities of phytoplankton algae were removed in the CWs but abundance of toxic algae such as Microcystis was low. It is concluded that particularly vertical flow CWs have great potential for treatment of fishpond water in recirculating aquaculture systems in the tropics as the discharge of polluted water and the associated environmental impact can be significantly reduced. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]