MBSS Site Summary for: AA-N-209-104-97


Located on MAGOTHY R UT1 in the Magothy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02131001.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/25/1997 and again in the summer on 7/10/1997.

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 Poor - 2.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.3 / 5.0

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 265 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 76.4 %
Agricultural Land Use 5.4 %
Forested Land Use 16.9 %


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 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		10/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 65 %
Embeddedness 95 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 95%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 17.3 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.2 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.29
Conductivity 200 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		210.9 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.8 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 3 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
American Eel 20
Eastern Mudminnow 11
Pumpkinseed 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
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
Prostoma Freshwater Nemertean (Ribbon Worm) 22
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 8
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 7
Enchytraeidae Aquatic Worm 5
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 3
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 3
Tipula Crane Fly 2
Chelifera Aquatic Dance Fly 2
Crangonyx Amphipod 1
Ironoquia Northern Caddisfly 1
Pisidium Freshwater Pea (Pill) Clam 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.