MBSS Site Summary for: AA-N-135-301-97


Located on SEVERN RUN in the Severn River watershed, 8-digit code: 02131002.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/27/1997 and again in the summer on 8/6/1997.

Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) Results:

An Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) is a scientific tool used to identify and classify stream health. An IBI associates anthropogenic influences on a stream or with biological condition in the stream, and is formulated using data developed from biosurveys.
Details on the development and application of MBSS IBIs are in this document.
Fish IBI Fair - 3.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 4,910 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 31 %
Agricultural Land Use 16.1 %
Forested Land Use 45.3 %


Stream showing woody debris, logs, and rocky substrate.
An example of woody debris in a stream.

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 10/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 10/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 50 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.6 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.6 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.14
Conductivity 179 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		598.7 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 4.5 mg/L

Biological Stream Condition:

Surveys of the organisms living within a stream can give indications of stream health. Species richness, or the number of different species present, as well as indicator species (species whose presence, absence or abundance can serve as a measure of environmental conditions) are informative for stream health. 		Close-up of a mayfly indicator species.

Fish Survey Results:
The following 13 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
American Eel 44
White Sucker 34
Tessellated Darter 16
Pumpkinseed 15
Green Sunfish 14
Yellow Perch 7
Bluegill 6
Brown Bullhead 4
Chain Pickerel 3
Eastern Mudminnow 3
Blacknose Dace 2
Largemouth Bass 1
Swallowtail Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Common Five-Lined Skink
Eastern Box Turtle
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Acentrella Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 76
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 5
Chelifera Aquatic Dance Fly 2
Naididae Aquatic Worm 2
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 2
Boyeria Spotted Darner Dragonfly 1
Diamesa Bloodworm 1
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 1
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Taeniopteryx Winter Stonefly 1
Kick net sampling for macroinvertebrates.
Sampling with a kick net.

Information disclaimer: The information and data on this page is for guidance and general planning purposes only. It should not be used to make decisions on specific matters.