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32-622: Quoisley Meres refers to two meres , Quoisley Big Mere and Quoisley Little Mere , near the village of Marbury , in Cheshire , England. Glacial in origin, the meres have nutrient-rich water. The meres, fringing reed beds and surrounding damp grassland are a Site of Special Scientific Interest , and have also been designated Wetlands of International Importance, as part of the Midland Meres and Mosses Ramsar site. The meres form an important habitat for invertebrates and birds, and

64-446: A large surface in proportion to the volume of water it contains. However, there is a limiting depth beyond which a lake does not behave as a mere since the sun does not warm the deeper water and the wind does not mix it. Here, a thermocline develops but where the limiting dimensions lie is influenced by the sunniness and windiness of the site and the murkiness of the water. This last usually depends on how eutrophic (rich in plant nutrients)

96-399: A livelihood for people around. Expressed more technically, the mere consists entirely of the epilimnion . This is quite unlike Windermere where in summer, there is a sharp thermocline at a depth of 9 to 15 metres, well above the maximum depth of 60 metres or so. (M&W p36) At first sight, the defining feature of a mere is its breadth in relation to its shallow depth. This means that it has

128-502: A mere is, except that it looks black. In 1629 mere and marsh were becoming interchangeable but in 1876 mere was "heard, at times, applied to ground permanently under water": in other words, a very shallow lake. The online edition of the OED 's quoted examples relate to: Where land similar to that of Martin Mere, gently undulating glacial till , becomes flooded and develops fen and bog ,

160-463: A number of meres. As at Martin Mere in Lancashire , when the fens were being drained to convert the land to pasture and arable agriculture, the meres went too but some are easily traced owing to the characteristic soil. For the reasons given above, it is rich in both calcium carbonate and humus . On the ground, its paleness stands out against the surrounding black, humic soils and on the soil map,

192-581: A particularly large variety of species including common club-rush , greater pond-sedge , lesser reedmace and tufted-sedge , which is rare in Cheshire. Big Mere has a narrow fringe of predominantly alder woodland. The SSSI also encompasses damp grassland between and around the two meres, which contains a wide variety of plant species including brown sedge and purple small-reed , as well as marsh fern and meadow thistle , which are rarely found in Cheshire. A total of 108 plant species has been recorded at

224-434: A thermocline in the short term but where there is a moderately windy climate, the circulation caused by wind drift is sufficient to break this up. (The surface is blown down-wind in a seiche and a return current passes either near the bottom or just above the thermocline if that is present at a sufficient depth.) This means that the bed of the shallow mere is aerated and bottom-feeding fish and wildfowl can survive, providing

256-440: A thick skin, making it as slippery as an eel . Folklore has it that this slime cured any sick fish that rubbed against it, and from this belief arose the name doctor fish . An artificially bred variety of tench called the golden tench is a popular ornamental fish for ponds. This form varies in colour from pale gold through to dark red, and some fish have black or red spots on the flanks and fins. Though somewhat similar to

288-603: Is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers . It is also found in Lake Baikal . It normally inhabits slow-moving freshwater habitats, particularly lakes and lowland rivers. The tench was first formally described in as Cyprinus tinca by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in

320-413: Is absent altogether from fast-flowing streams. It tolerates water with a low oxygen concentration, being found in waters where even the carp cannot survive. Tench feed mostly at night with a preference for animals, such as chironomids , on the bottom of eutrophic waters and snails and pea clams in well-vegetated waters. Breeding takes place in shallow water usually among aquatic plants where

352-438: Is now obsolete ( OED ). It is a poetical or dialect word meaning a sheet of standing water, a lake or a pond ( OED ). The OED 's fourth definition ("A marsh, a fen.") includes wetland such as fen amongst usages of the word which is reflected in the lexicographers' recording of it. In a quotation from the year 598, mere is contrasted against moss (bog) and field against fen. The OED quotation from 1609 does not say what

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384-537: Is rather narrow and provided at each corner with a very small barbel . Maximum size is 70 cm (28 in), though most specimens are much smaller. A record fish caught in 2001 in England had a weight of 15 lb 3.4 oz (6.899 kg). The eyes are small and red-orange in colour. Females can reach weights of around 7 kg (15 lb), although 4 kg (8.8 lb) is considered large. Males rarely reach over 3 kg (6.5 lb). Sexual dimorphism

416-407: Is strong, males can be recognised by having larger, more curved pelvic fins extending beyond the anus and noticeable muscles around the base of these fins generally absent in females. Males also possess a very thick and flattened outer ray to the ventral fins. Adult females may have a more convex ventral profile when compared with males. The tench has very small scales, which are deeply embedded in

448-434: Is that they are alongside a river rather than having the river flowing through them. In this way, the mere is replenished by seepage from the bed of the lime-rich river, through the river's natural levée , or by winter floods. The water of the mere is then static through the summer, when the concentration of the calcium carbonate rises until it is precipitated on the bed of the mere. Even quite shallow lake water can develop

480-723: Is used more generally than the English mere. It means "lake", as also seen in the names of lakes containing meer in Northern Germany , e.g. Steinhuder Meer . When the Zuiderzee was enclosed by a dam and its saltwater became fresh, it changed its status from a sea ( zee ) to being known as the IJsselmeer , the lake into which the River IJssel flows. Tench The tench or doctor fish ( Tinca tinca )

512-495: The 10th edition of Systema Naturae with its type locality given as "European lakes". In 1764 François Alexandre Pierre de Garsault proposed the new monospecific genus Tinca , with Cyprinus tinca as the type species by absolute tautonymy . The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classified Tinca in the subfamily Tincinae , alongside the genus Tanichthys , while other authorities classified both these genera in

544-427: The goldfish , because these fish have such small scales, their quality is rather different. Tench are edible, working well in recipes that would otherwise call for carp, but are not commonly consumed. They are shoaling fish that are popular quarries for coarse angling in rivers, lakes and canals. Tench, particularly golden tench, are also kept as ornamental fish in ponds as they are bottom feeders that help to keep

576-683: The " mare 'Wide' vocatum " of Robert of Swaffham's version of the Hereward story ( Chapter XXVI ). If it is, it will have been in existence in the 1070s, when the events of the story took place. Meres similar to those of the English Fens but more numerous and extensive used to exist in the Netherlands , particularly in Holland . See Haarlemmermeer , for example. However, the Dutch word meer

608-539: The Great Levell of the Fenns" of 1720, though Trundle Mere is not named, the above are all named but one, included with the addition of: In the interval, Stretham Mere had gone and the main features of the modern drainage pattern had appeared. Ugg, Ramsey and Benwick meres do not show in the soil map. Others which do but which appear to have been drained before Saxton's mapping in 1576 are at: The last appears to be

640-477: The Midland Meres and Mosses Ramsar site. They also lie within the Wirswall /Marbury/ Combermere Area of Special County Value. The two meres have nutrient-rich or eutrophic open water with the dominant aquatic plants being water lilies ; Big Mere has both white and yellow water lilies, while Little Mere has predominantly white. Both meres are surrounded by well-developed reed beds , with Big Mere having

672-453: The end of the last ice age , some ten or fifteen thousand years ago. The meres are located immediately south of the track from Wirswall Road to Mere Farm, around ¾ mile west of the village of Marbury ; the nearest town is Whitchurch , around 2½ miles to the south. There are two meres; the larger, Quoisley Big Mere, is at SJ546455 , and the smaller, Quoisley Little Mere, at SJ549455 . A narrow strip of woodland, Holly Rough, lines

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704-444: The farm track immediately to the north of Little Mere. The catchment area of the meres is 136 hectares (340 acres). The Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Quoisley Meres was designated in 1963 and occupies 28.25 hectares (69.8 acres). The SSSI encompasses both meres, their margins and some of the surrounding pasture; Holly Rough is excluded. The meres were designated Wetlands of International Importance in 1994, as part of

736-529: The former meres show as patches of the Willingham soil association, code number 372 (Soil Map). Apart from those drained in the medieval period, they are shown in Saxton's map of the counties (as they were in his time) of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire. The following is a list of known meres of the eastern English Fenland with their grid references . Saxton's meres are named as: In Jonas Moor's "map of

768-442: The remnants of the original mere remain until the whole is filled with peat . This can be delayed where the mere is fed by lime-rich water from chalk or limestone upland and a significant proportion of the outflow from the mere takes the form of evaporation. In these circumstances, the lime (typically calcium carbonate ) is deposited on the peaty bed and inhibits plant growth, therefore, peat formation. A typical feature of these meres

800-418: The same root as marsh and moor . The Indo-European root *mori gave also birth to similar words in other European languages: Latin mare , ″sea″ (Italian mare , Spanish mar , French mer ); Old Celtic *mori , ″sea″ (Gaulish mori- , more , Irish muir , Welsh môr , Breton mor ); and Old Slavic morje . The word once included the sea or an arm of the sea in its range of meaning but this marine usage

832-601: The site contains over a hundred plant species, including tufted-sedge , marsh fern and meadow thistle , which are all rare in Cheshire. Natural England considered the site's condition to be unfavourable in 2009. Quoisley Meres lie on the Cheshire Plain , near the boundary with Shropshire , at an average elevation of around 75 metres. In common with the majority of meres in the Meres and Mosses natural area , they probably represent glacial kettle holes , formed at

864-585: The site in a stable condition. This was due to a combination of factors including drainage, inappropriate water levels, poor ditch management, lack of pest and weed control, and water pollution and sedimentation due to discharge and agricultural runoff ; undergrazing was also a problem for one of the grassland areas. Mere (lake) The word mere is recorded in Old English as mere ″sea, lake″, corresponding to They derive from reconstituted Proto-Germanic *mari , itself from Indo-European *mori ,

896-403: The site is limited to a public footpath from Wirswall Road which crosses the field to the east of Quoisley Little Mere. The Big Mere can be viewed from the track from Wirswall Road to Mere Farm. Fishing (except by the owner) is not permitted. The site was assessed by Natural England as in an unfavourable condition in 2009; 92.5% of the area, including both meres, was declining, with only 7.6% of

928-530: The site. The meres support abundant aquatic invertebrate species, especially beetles and bugs , with some rare species on record. There is a low density of fish, particularly in Little Mere; the predominant species is roach , with some eel , pike , tench and trout . The meres form an important habitat for birds, with gadwall , garganey and ruddy ducks among the species that have been observed here. The meres are on private land; public access to

960-414: The sticky green eggs can be deposited. Spawning usually occurs in summer, and as many as 300,000 eggs may be produced. Growth is rapid, and fish may reach a weight of 0.11 kg (0.25 lb) within the first year. Tench have a stocky, carp-like shape and olive-green skin, darker above and almost golden below. The tail fin is square in shape. The other fins are distinctly rounded in shape. The mouth

992-405: The subfamily Leuciscinae with other Eurasian minnows, but more recent phylogenetic studies have supported it belonging to its own family Tincidae . The Tincidae was first proposed as a name in 1878 by David Starr Jordan . The tench is most often found in still waters with a clay or muddy substrate and abundant vegetation. This species is rare in clear waters across stony substrate, and

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1024-529: The water is. Nonetheless, in general, with the enlargement of the extent of a mere, the depth has to become proportionately less if it is to behave as a mere. There are many examples in Cheshire , including: Many examples also occur in north Shropshire , especially around the town of Ellesmere , which is sometimes known as 'the Shropshire lake district', such as: The Fens of eastern England, as well as fen, lowland moor (bog) and other habitats, included

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