The river landscape, parts of which have been declared a nature reserve, is home to the Elbe beaver and otter. The Schwarze Elster is home to carp, hazel, ide, chub, bleak and bitterling. The waters in the nature reserve are rich in pond mussel populations, and the spring gillfish can be found in small bodies of water.
Amphibians and reptiles are represented by the moor frog, pond frog, lake frog, natterjack toad, green toad, fire-bellied toad and sand lizard, while dragonflies include the banded damselfly and early reed moth. Birds are also well represented. Marsh harrier, red kite, black kite, cormorant, garganey, spoonbill, red-necked grebe, little grebe, spotted crake, water rail, lesser spotted woodpecker, great grey shrike, red-backed shrike, wryneck, kingfisher, nightingale, sandpiper, little ringed plover, great reed warbler, reed warbler, whitethroat, barred warbler, great tit and long-tailed tit breed here.
It is also a feeding habitat for white-tailed eagles and honey buzzards. It is also a resting and wintering area for numerous waterfowl.
Flora along the River Elster
Reed canary grass, needle sedge, fox sedge and brown sedge colonise the area.
Meadow foxtail colonises cultivated areas. Tall herbaceous meadows are formed by, among others, Siberian iris, God's grace herb, yellow meadow rue and common burnet.
The siltation areas of the oxbow lakes are occupied by marsh haywort, sludgewort, root-leaved sill, water vapour, marsh horsetail and marsh spurge.
The oxbow lakes are occupied by extensive stands of water lilies as well as pondweed and water hose, water nut, frog-bit and crab claw. In the lowlands, there are individual shrubs and groups of shrubs in places. These consist mainly of willows (basket willow, quaking willow, grey willow, purple willow and almond willow), as well as thorny shrubs such as the common hawthorn and English oak. In the course of the Schwarze Elster river, simple hedgehog bulrush and common arrowhead grow. The flood defence dykes are colonised by vinegar rose, field man's litter, fine-leaved yarrow and heath carnation.
The tench
The tench, also known as the "hatchling" or "cobbler", belongs to the carp family.
It lives mainly at the bottom of slow-flowing or stagnant waters and shallow, warm and herb-rich lakes.
Tench are also characterised by their great resistance to oxygen deficiency and acidic bog water.
As an extremely adaptable species, they can tolerate both very low oxygen levels and high pH values and even thrive in stagnant water in summer. Shallow, muddy lakes often suffer from an acute lack of oxygen, especially in summer. Tench survive this by falling into a kind of "rigour".
The tench owes its name to its slimy surface, over a kind of leathery skin in which many small scales are embedded.
The tench is an excellent edible fish due to its tender and flavoursome flesh. It provides our body with important nutrients such as vitamins A, B2, B6, B12, iodine, important minerals and omega-3 fatty acids.
Tench can live for over 20 years.
The most important characteristics of tench:
- the tench has a stocky, strong body with a strikingly high caudal peduncle
- the back is usually dark green or brown in colour
- the flanks are lighter in colour and have a golden or brassy sheen
- the belly is yellowish white
- it has 1 pair of short barbels on the mouth coils, small eyes and a reddish iris
- it has a thick tail root with a straight tail fin (barely indented)
- all fins are strongly rounded
- the males have elongated ventral fins, the 2nd ray of which is thickened, the ventral fins protrude over the anus
The tench is hard to confuse. It most closely resembles the carp, but this has a very long dorsal fin and 2 pairs of barbels. It can grow to a maximum length of approx. 70 cm, the average length is 30 to 35 cm. The maximum weight is 7.5 kg.