MBSS Site Summary for: AA-N-167-031-95


Located on Patuxent River in the Patuxent River Upper watershed, 8-digit code: 02131104.
This stream was visited in the summer on 9/14/1995.

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 N R
Benthic IBI N R

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
(Hint: Screen readers will announce definitions; mouse users can hover over dotted text.)
Catchment area No data available Cows standing in a stream at a site with high agricultural land use. Cows survey the sampling procedure at this extreme example of a highly agriculturalized site.
Urban Land Use No data available
Agricultural Land Use No data available
Forested Land Use No data available


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 16/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 17/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		17/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 16/20 (Optimal)
Shading 85 %
Embeddedness 65 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 65%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 21.9 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.8 mg/L
Conductivity 230 µmho/cm

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 25 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
American Eel 98
Tessellated Darter 85
Bluegill 66
Fallfish 62
Pumpkinseed 35
Swallowtail Shiner 35
Redbreast Sunfish 27
Satinfin Shiner 19
Sea Lamprey 18
Rosyside Dace 7
Chain Pickerel 4
Eastern Mudminnow 4
Spottail Shiner 4
Blacknose Dace 3
Yellow Bullhead 3
Black Crappie 2
White Sucker 2
Channel Catfish 1
Creek Chub 1
Creek Chubsucker 1
Green Sunfish 1
Largemouth Bass 1
Redfin Pickerel 1
Smallmouth Bass 1
Yellow Perch 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern American Toad
Eastern Box Turtle
Northern Green Frog
Southern Leopard Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Benthic data unavailable.
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.