MBSS Site Summary for: AA-N-262-101-96


Located on MARLEY CR in the Baltimore Harbor watershed, 8-digit code: 02130903.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/6/1996 and again in the summer on 6/4/1996.

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 - 1.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.6 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 832 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 89.9 %
Agricultural Land Use 2.6 %
Forested Land Use 7.6 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat

Instream Habitat 0/20 (Poor)
Epifaunal Substrate 0/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 6/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters
1/20 (Poor)
Riffle Quality 2/20 (Poor)
Shading 20 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Poor' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:

Water temperature 15.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.6 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.99
Conductivity 363 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity)
897.9 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 14.6 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 1 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
No Fish Observed 0
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:

Eastern Box Turtle

Crayfish:

No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:

No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:

Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 9
Pyralidae Snout Moth 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.