MBSS Site Summary for: AA-N-337-102-97


Located on FRANKLIN BR in the Little Patuxent River watershed, 8-digit code: 02131105.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/31/1997 and again in the summer on 6/18/1997.

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 - 2.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.9 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 777 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 69.2 %
Agricultural Land Use 18.8 %
Forested Land Use 11.9 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 3/20 (Poor)
Epifaunal Substrate 3/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 3/20 (Poor)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		10/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 4/20 (Poor)
Shading 13 %
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 17.3 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.9 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.11
Conductivity 288 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		706.7 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 5.2 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 5 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Bluegill 102
Brown Bullhead 51
Mummichog 18
Golden Shiner 2
Largemouth Bass 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 22
Gyraulus White Ramshorn Freshwater Snail 20
Limnodrilus Worm 17
Pseudosuccinea Air Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Hyalella Amphipod 1
Argia Narrow-Winged Damselfly 1
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 1
Pseudorthocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 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.